SAP S/4HANA System Conversion using KTern: A Case Study

DXaaS Dec 17, 2021

In this article “SAP S/4HANA System Conversion using KTern: A Case Study”, we will explain how a leading E-Services provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia achieved a faster and safer move from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA using KTern. One of the key customer value-adds of using KTern is the automation led approach which saved 30% of costs, efforts and timeline.

SAP S/4HANA System conversion
The Company
Business Situation and Challenges
Solution provided by KTern
Before the transition
During the transition
After the transition
KTern Driven Benefits
Next Steps

SAP S/4HANA System conversion

SAP S/4HANA is the latest generation of SAP's enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. It is designed to help organizations streamline their business processes and operate more efficiently. For organizations that are already using SAP ERP, a system conversion to SAP S/4HANA is a logical next step.

A system conversion involves migrating the existing SAP ERP system to SAP S/4HANA. This process is different from a new implementation of SAP S/4HANA, where the organization starts from scratch with a new system.

SAP S/4HANA system conversion can be a complex and challenging process, as it involves a significant amount of data migration and system configuration. However, the benefits of moving to SAP S/4HANA are significant, including improved performance, better decision-making capabilities, and enhanced user experience.

To ensure a successful SAP S/4HANA system conversion, organizations need to carefully plan and execute the process. This may involve selecting a conversion approach, evaluating system requirements, performing data migration, and testing the system to ensure it is functioning as intended.

The Company

With over 35 years of experience in providing electronic services and solutions across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our client delivers the highest quality of e-services, training and consultation services, IT solutions, and government outsourcing services to meet their customer’s expectations. They strive to innovate and serve various sectors operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They also have an eye on Saudi’s Vision 2030 which focusses on national expertise building and IT localization.

Business Situation and Challenges

As a leading e-services provider, they deliver ready-made and customized solutions to help their customers achieve their full potential. In the back end, they had been utilizing SAP ECC for quite some time to manage their business operations. They were eager to move to S/4HANA to improve their system performance and simplify the key business processes.

Landscape Details:

SAP ECC 6 EHP 6
420 GB SQL database
5173 total SAP ERP users
2616 custom objects
17 company codes

This transition from SAP ECC to S/4HANA is not simple and unlike any other upgrade project. The implications of the conversion are felt across the business. It is a time-consuming process and involves a lot of manual effort in terms of testing, data validation, custom code migration and much more.

Solution provided by KTern

The IT team of our client evaluated multiple leading products in the market. The team wanted an all-in-one product suite from where they could automate and manage the system conversion from start to finish. And, KTern was their unanimous choice.

Before the transition

KTern conducted an automated S/4HANA assessment to illustrate technical, functional, and business process impact of moving to S/4HANA
It provided auto-recommendations pertaining to testing strategy, landscape & infra, and data archiving
KTern auto-generated an S/4HANA conversion blueprint incorporating the right plan, the right effort, the right cost, the right system sizing, the right project management, and the right quality

Our client was looking for a tool that could simplify the transition and guarantee a risk-free system conversion. This is where KTern fit the bill perfectly.

During the transition

You can create several custom transactions, tables, reports and objects in your SAP system. However, before moving to S/4HANA, it is necessary to analyze all the custom objects in order to determine the most used objects and to retire some custom objects. Without a single unified view of all the custom objects, it is very difficult to figure this out. However, KTern is here to save the day. It automates the process of custom object analytics.

KTern provided the maximum value to our client in this phase by automating the custom code migration, testing and the data validation. Accurate custom code migration and testing greatly reduced the timeline and effort involved in the project.

KTern is an SAP certified SaaS product built for SAP Digital Transformations. It’s unique automation, governance and collaboration capabilities helps ECC customers migrate to S/4HANA.

KTern added value through:

Custom process refinement using preset automation rulesets for custom code remediation
Business Process Automation Testing based on ECC system usage and inbuilt datasets
Automated Data Validation based on the migrated data from ECC to S/4HANA

After the transition

Even after go-live of the project, KTern continuously provided value through:

Provision of a repository of test cases, issues, and bugs for faster and safer future upgrades
Readily available and accessible data for audit requirements
UX transformation through Fiori App Recommendations

KTern Driven Benefits

The client’s SAP ECC system was smoothly converted to SAP S/4HANA without any glitches. The cost, timeline and effort were much lower than what was anticipated at the beginning of the project. All this was possible only by using KTern.

KTern's 12 inbuilt modules and inbuilt AI & RPA driven “S/4HANAPEDIA” rule engine covers the entire lifecycle of an S/4HANA project.

Following were some the key data-driven benefits provided by KTern throughout the course of the project:

Improved collaboration and efficiency between all stakeholders involved in the project
“S/4HANAPEDIA” and SAP Activate empowered project automation, management, governance
Impact Assessment of 20+ parameters in 3 days instead of 20-man days
Custom Code Remediation in 4 days instead of 30-man days
Completion of testing in 15 days instead of 120-man days
Data validation in 1 day instead of 40-man days
One product to control the conversion from start to finish