Authors :
S V Prasad Gandhikota
Volume/Issue :
Volume 7 - 2022, Issue 6 - June
Google Scholar :
https://bit.ly/3IIfn9N
Scribd :
https://bit.ly/3tXEd0T
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6716651
Abstract :
The purpose of writing this paper is to provide
insights of successful SAP integrations as part of mergers
and acquisitions journey of the companies.
Problem: Companies allocate substantial budgets for
SAP integration projects running in to millions of US $
and if these projects are not executed with a very
structured and proven methodologies then it will have a
significant downstream impacts not just to the dollars
spent but a more significant impact to the overall supply
chain strategy and companies will lose heavily on
customer satisfaction levels and service level agreements
set for supply chain metrics like on time and in full,
Inventory turns, Fill rates, Inventory days of supply,
Customer service, Inventory to Sales Ratio, Total
replenishment lead times, Inventory carrying cost , back
order rate etc.
With enterprise resource planning (ERP) at the
heart of the many organizations operations failures of
software roll outs can lead to shareholder dissatisfactions due to crashing stock values and financial
meltdowns. Based on research by CIO in 2015 just 58
percent of organizations rated their latest project a
success, while by 2019 that figure had risen to 88 percent.
According to an article published in Bright Pearl
Revlon brand was sued by its own shareholders for a
failed ERP SAP S/4 HANA project. When Revlon
acquired Elizabeth Arden Inc. in 2018 and signed up for
SAP S/4 HANA for to merge the operations of both the
companies the results are disastrous costing the brand a
$ 64 Million in sales losses. Revlon claimed that SAP S/4
HANA software was not mature enough for such a largescale integration.
Methods: Methods used to address the research problem
are proven methodologies of SAP integrations gained by
experience of doing these kinds of complex integrations
again and again and getting the things right first time by
following a proven, very structured, and disciplined
approach are discussed in detail.
Conclusions reached: It requires lot of experience to
execute these projects and there is a need to make quick
decisions in each phase of the project. To be successful
you need to have flawless execution skills in addition to a
good strategy. There is a need to apply flawless execution
skills in each phase of the project right from project
initiation & planning, resource planning and allocation,
Business process discoveries, Design/Build,
Configurations and Customizations in realization phase,
cut over planning, Final project preparation as part of
Go Live and stabilizations. The strategies, challenges and
best practice approaches are discussed in detail to
conclude that we can make these complex integrations
successful again and again if we follow these proven
methodologiesand have an attitude of refuse to lose.
Significance: The significance of this research project is
very high as many things are at stake, to name a few high
investments running in to multimillion US $, supply
chain risks not able to fulfill set targets in terms of
metrics, loss of trust in the organization etc. These
projects are highly significant because of the visibility of
senior leadership teams as they are discussed in town hall
meetings on regular basis.
Keywords :
SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in data processing), Supply Chain Heavy Integrations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Food Industry Global Supply Chains.
The purpose of writing this paper is to provide
insights of successful SAP integrations as part of mergers
and acquisitions journey of the companies.
Problem: Companies allocate substantial budgets for
SAP integration projects running in to millions of US $
and if these projects are not executed with a very
structured and proven methodologies then it will have a
significant downstream impacts not just to the dollars
spent but a more significant impact to the overall supply
chain strategy and companies will lose heavily on
customer satisfaction levels and service level agreements
set for supply chain metrics like on time and in full,
Inventory turns, Fill rates, Inventory days of supply,
Customer service, Inventory to Sales Ratio, Total
replenishment lead times, Inventory carrying cost , back
order rate etc.
With enterprise resource planning (ERP) at the
heart of the many organizations operations failures of
software roll outs can lead to shareholder dissatisfactions due to crashing stock values and financial
meltdowns. Based on research by CIO in 2015 just 58
percent of organizations rated their latest project a
success, while by 2019 that figure had risen to 88 percent.
According to an article published in Bright Pearl
Revlon brand was sued by its own shareholders for a
failed ERP SAP S/4 HANA project. When Revlon
acquired Elizabeth Arden Inc. in 2018 and signed up for
SAP S/4 HANA for to merge the operations of both the
companies the results are disastrous costing the brand a
$ 64 Million in sales losses. Revlon claimed that SAP S/4
HANA software was not mature enough for such a largescale integration.
Methods: Methods used to address the research problem
are proven methodologies of SAP integrations gained by
experience of doing these kinds of complex integrations
again and again and getting the things right first time by
following a proven, very structured, and disciplined
approach are discussed in detail.
Conclusions reached: It requires lot of experience to
execute these projects and there is a need to make quick
decisions in each phase of the project. To be successful
you need to have flawless execution skills in addition to a
good strategy. There is a need to apply flawless execution
skills in each phase of the project right from project
initiation & planning, resource planning and allocation,
Business process discoveries, Design/Build,
Configurations and Customizations in realization phase,
cut over planning, Final project preparation as part of
Go Live and stabilizations. The strategies, challenges and
best practice approaches are discussed in detail to
conclude that we can make these complex integrations
successful again and again if we follow these proven
methodologiesand have an attitude of refuse to lose.
Significance: The significance of this research project is
very high as many things are at stake, to name a few high
investments running in to multimillion US $, supply
chain risks not able to fulfill set targets in terms of
metrics, loss of trust in the organization etc. These
projects are highly significant because of the visibility of
senior leadership teams as they are discussed in town hall
meetings on regular basis.
Keywords :
SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in data processing), Supply Chain Heavy Integrations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Food Industry Global Supply Chains.