Greenfield implementation at a technology start-up

How do you roll out SAP S/4HANA to a start-up and non-SAP company whose processes are largely undocumented?

That was the key question facing the decision makers at Dresden-based Heliatek, a manufacturer of ultra-light, flexible and sustainable solar film with more than 200 employees. “Before the project, many of the processes were still running the way they often do in the early start-up phase – as and when required, but without any order or organization, which is the way it has to be at this stage, but it slows things down in production operation,” says Thomas Martin, Heliatek’s CFO.

This would have to change fundamentally with the implementation of SAP S/4HANA. Following significant growth over the past few years and with further growth planned, the company needed a powerful, up-to-date, and scalable IT architecture with end-to-end processes.

Its goals included developing the company further and laying the foundation for good operational and strategic decisions.

To achieve the goals, the decision makers wanted a modern end-to-end process landscape with SAP S/4HANA that was as close to the standard as possible. According to Fabian Wick, Project Manager at GAMBIT Consulting, “The situation also represented a tremendous opportunity for the still young company as we were able to build a target system architecture with SAP S/4HANA from the ground up using best practices and adhering almost entirely to the standard.”

Heliatek is evolving from a very strong R&D-focused company to a mass production company. Founded in 2006 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Dresden and the University of Ulm, the company recently commenced series production of its globally unique product with its unique machines and processes. The product’s major advantage is that the solar films can be applied to almost any building surface (horizontally, vertically, or on a curved surface) and on almost any substrate (concrete, metal, bitumen or even glass), and are perfect for retrofitting buildings.

Before the start of the project, Heliatek used a self-developed Manufacturing Execution System as well as the non-integrated ERP system Microsoft Navision for Finance and Purchasing only. However, this infrastructure was unable to accommodate the company’s further growth.

During the project’s initialization phase, the first tasks were to select a suitable ERP provider and system, create a detailed list of requirements, select a partner, and appoint the required internal employees.

There were several reasons why the company decided to migrate to SAP: firstly, many of the senior managers already had experience with SAP, and secondly, the company needed a scalable and proven ERP system.

After deciding on SAP, Heliatek compiled a list of more than 300 of the most important requirements from central areas of the company – from Logistics and Finance through to Production. As Thomas Martin from Heliatek explains, “We wanted to clarify exactly what we really needed in order to determine the next steps and find a suitable partner.”

After several meetings with various providers, the decision makers finally opted for GAMBIT Consulting. “GAMBIT’s project approach particularly impressed us, as did everything we saw, heard, and experienced in the various test workshops.”

An unusual aspect of this project was that GAMBIT not only provided external project management support for Heliatek, it also provided the internal project manager, Fabian Wick. “This was new for us in a greenfield project of this kind, but in retrospect it proved to be an excellent solution. This arrangement certainly helped to accelerate parts of the project due to my proximity both to the Heliatek senior managers and the colleagues at GAMBIT,” says Fabian Wick.

Thomas Martin continues; “It soon became clear, however, that we would not be able to implement one of our project goals. We had planned to do the project as an on-site project, but unfortunately the COVID pandemic threw a wrench in the works.” In the end, he says, 99 percent of the entire project with GAMBIT was managed remotely, essentially from the home office.

This virtual and digital collaboration demanded intensive, professional change management. Thomas Martin: “Communication was key from the very beginning in terms of uniting the team, clarifying the purpose of the project and, above all, instilling a stronger end-to-end process mindset among our employees. So from the beginning, we communicated over diverse channels and using different formats, from training sessions and staff meetings to newsletters.”

The implementation project initially began with an intensive phase of end-to-end process design. “We first defined, discussed and documented all conceivable processes in joint workshops,” explains Fabian Wick. “I should also mention here the ideal process flow, which we call ‘happy flow’ and which we defined alongside numerous exceptions to the standard.”

The processes were initially documented in Excel and then transferred to the open-source tool draw.io. With the aid of the software, the consultants created process flow charts that were used, among other things, for training the project participants.

The project team also used the defined and documented processes as the basis for mapping with SAP Best Practices. “Our approach was clear: rather than building the system in line with the processes, we would build the processes in line with the standard,” explains Fabian Wick. All change requests for non-standard solutions had to be specifically reviewed by the Board of Heliatek as ‘guardians of the standard’.

The team thus developed a suitable target system with SAP S/4HANA as its digital core, defined and designed the target processes, and completed the implementation. “The go-live at the start of February 2022 went well, mainly because of the excellent preparation.” We now have to wait and see if the system continues to prove itself when we ramp up production. However, we are very happy, and the first signs are that the implementation has been a success,” says Thomas Martin.