Looking to improve your business processes? It might be time to migrate to SAP S/4HANA. However, from various disparate enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is a complex task that requires numerous tools, extensive human resources, and significant financial investment. Master data management (MDM) plays a critical role in the data migration process, and our MDM solution is designed to help you combat any challenges to ensure a smooth migration to S/4HANA.

The strategic role of MDM in enhancing S/4HANA implementations

SAP S/4HANA, launched in 2015, is an advanced ERP solution designed for large-scale enterprises. It incorporates technologies such as embedded AI, real-time analytics, in-memory computing, and process automation. This system is set to replace older systems like SAP R/3 and SAP ECC with enhanced efficiency, improved data sources, and integrated business intelligence capabilities. The full potential of S/4HANA, however, hinges on the quality of its master data.

Organizations with a complex ERP landscape face the challenge of inconsistent data due to multiple systems resulting from organic growth, mergers, and acquisitions. MDM simplifies this complexity by enabling an effective and consistent implementation of S/4HANA across different geographies and business units, reducing risks and simplifying data landscapes.

Ensuring operational continuity with MDM

During an SAP S/4HANA migration project, it’s essential to maintain operational continuity with minimal downtime. MDM optimizes resource use, often reducing the number of resources required. This helps maintain business functions in both legacy ERPs and the new S/4HANA environment until full deployment is achieved.

Supporting various migration types

When planning S/4HANA implementations, you must first consider the best type of migration to meet your business needs. These migration formats include:

Greenfield migrations

A greenfield migration is typically chosen when an organization has little or no existing SAP environment, or when the current SAP environments have reached a point where it would be easier to start over rather than trying to carry over existing processes and data framework.MDM supports this journey in several ways:

• Greatly reduces migration time: Quickly stages data for migration and uses a configurable platform to avoid heavy time investments in coding and recoding customizations.
• Reduces costs: Simplifies integrations and automates migration processes to lower the costs associated with greenfield migrations.
• Mitigates change management disruptions: Provides an easy-to-understand and quick-to-adopt user interface, serving as a central point for managing master data in both SAP and non-SAP environments.

Brownfield migrations

When organizations rely heavily on an SAP environment tailored to their needs, they often consider brownfield migrations. This approach is seen as an upgrade since existing SAP tools and features facilitate a smooth migration. While MDM remains valuable, it benefits the organization after the migration is complete rather than during the migration process.

• Identifies inefficiencies: Helps organizations and SAP implementation teams find inefficiencies and integrate MDM to reduce current and future technical debt.
• Enables process redesign: Assists organizations in extending S/4HANA to other environments, allowing for process redesign without disrupting business operations.
• Simplifies data environments: Streamlines data environments and processes, making it faster and easier to achieve the full benefits and value of S/4HANA.

Hybrid migrations (selective data transitions)

Organizations heavily invested in SAP with a mixed ERP landscape often opt for a hybrid migration, also known as selective data transition. This approach is suitable when critical customized processes and environments need to remain intact in the new implementation, yet there are still inefficiencies and redundancies that need to be addressed. MDM provides the same support required in greenfield migrations, plus

• Enhances visibility: Provides data and process visibility, simplifies system reengineering and conversion, and improves processes for optimal end-to-end workflow efficiency.
• Accelerates rollout: Supports accelerated data load, staging, and process requirements to meet specific migration-related KPIs at designated times.

Extending S/4HANA capabilities across environments with MDM 

MDM supports and enhances the capabilities of the S/4HANA environment, working across both SAP and non-SAP systems to ensure seamless data management. This approach guarantees consistent and accurate data, which is crucial for effective analytics and solid decision-making.

Long-term benefits of MDM in the S/4HANA migration 

Integrating MDM into your S/4HANA migration strategy provides significant long-term benefits: 

Simplified IT infrastructure

MDM consolidates data management practices, significantly reducing IT maintenance costs and subscription fees.

Enhanced data governance

MDM fosters robust data governance that enhances compliance and asset management, paving the way for future high-impact projects.

Sustainability of investments

MDM tools provide the flexibility needed for businesses to adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities, ensuring a sustainable investment in S/4HANA.

MDM versus other migration solutions 

Other solutions for your organization’s S/4HANA migration may offer quick fixes, but they often come with steep learning curves and are limited to SAP environments, increasing the complexity of future projects and adding to technical debt. In contrast, Stibo Systems' MDM solution offers a comprehensive, user-friendly migration approach that supports not only the current migration but also accommodates future organizational growth and technological advancements.

Comprehensive case study: Demonstrating MDM's effectiveness (selective data transition) 

A leading European engineering manufacturer used Stibo Systems MDM to expedite their S/4HANA migration, achieving a 40% reduction in migration timeframe. The company consolidated its SAP ERP landscape from over 250 systems to just 15, significantly streamlining its IT infrastructure. This success story not only highlights the efficiency of MDM but also Stibo Systems’ role in building strong partnerships with implementation teams, fostering trust, and setting the stage for future collaborative projects on a global scale.  

Best practices and common challenges in S/4HANA migration 

Implementing S/4HANA presents various challenges and requires adhering to best practices to ensure a smooth transition. 

Common challenges:

• Integrating current data silos
• Maintaining proper authorization
• Aligning legacy systems with the new ERP

Best practices:

• Develop a clear migration strategy
• Involve stakeholders throughout the process
• Prioritize data quality
• Implement robust change management

Role of MDM:

• Ensures data integrity
• Simplifies the migration effort
• Reduces reliance on extensive custom coding
• Provides an overall smooth transition

Choose Stibo Systems to overcome MDM migration challenges 

The journey to S/4HANA is filled with potential pitfalls, especially when migrating data and adjusting processes from existing ERP systems.MDM ensures that master data is cleansed, consistent, and converted accurately for S/4HANA use, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of business operations during and after the migration.

By addressing both current and future data management needs, Stibo’s MDM solution proves to be an indispensable asset in the journey toward digital transformation with SAP S/4HANA. Download the solution sheet below to learn more about our new system conversions and migration tools.