Komplett Group – E-commerce giant implements SAP S/4HANA Cloud on Azure

Challenge

For over two decades, Komplett Group used an ERP solution that gradually became overly complex and costly to upgrade and customize as new development needs arose.

– Every time we needed a change or upgrade, we had to dive deep into SAP together with developers from Pearl, says CIO Thomas Pedersen at Komplett.

With a broad product range, a solid customer base, and ambitious growth goals, the company needed a less complex andmore flexible and modern ERP solution.

Solution

As an e-commerce giant and pioneer, Komplett Group sought to upgrade its business system. They decided on a "Green Field" implementation, building a completely new system from scratch. The modernization project was a key component of Komplett's growth strategy.

Komplett chose Pearl to lead the implementation of this large-scale project after a competition among several strong vendors. In the extensive work of implementing SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition on the Azure platform, Pearl led a team that included IT companies Evidi, Westernacher, and Vistex. The modernization project is the largest implementation project Pearl has ever delivered.

Customer benefits

Implementing SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud resulted in a fully scalable ERP system, significantly reducing complexity and improving Komplett's ability to develop and simplify customizations and upgrades rapidly.

– We have divided the new system into a three-layer architecture: At the bottom, we have a stable and standardized ERP. The middle layer features dedicated services with APIs and facilitates functionality that is not in the ERP layer. The top layer is dedicated to customer interfaces, including webshops, focusing on innovation, Pedersen says and adds:

– This new three-part system portfolio allows us to adapt and replace functionality and system solutions faster because the layers and systems are not tightly integrated.

Standardization brings multiple benefits

The new ERP system has resulted in numerous concrete business benefits that directly address previous challenges and provide a solid foundation for further growth and efficiency.
Firstly, Komplett achieved a more cost-effective operating model, which already showed a significant reduction in daily operating costs after six months. A more standardized ERP system also streamlines other business processes within the company.

– The new IT platform enables easier integration with new systems and partners and easier sharing of solutions and functionality across Komplett Group. It provides a more standardized and streamlined operational approach, speeding up the development and implementation of new business strategies, says Pedersen, elaborating:

– With the new system's Composable Architecture, we can more easily upgrade systems without changing the entire portfolio. With a more modern IT platform with standardized systems, we can now leverage more synergies overall, Pedersen explains.

Composable Architecture in SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud is known for providing outstanding flexibility. It enables rapid adaptation and extension of business systems without disrupting the core. It promotes innovation through microservices and APIs, allowing companies to integrate and update functions independently and streamline the implementation of new business strategies.

Increased innovation pace and in-house competence

The new ERP system helped Komplett free up vital resources, allowing them to focus on development and innovation instead of demanding operational tasks.

– Shifting resource use and costs from operations to further development means we can increase the pace of innovation independently of third-party developers. This is significant for Komplett's further growth and innovation capability, says Pedersen.

A system that allows for more focus on innovation and development provides Komplett with a competitive edge in an increasingly competitive market. However, the shift in competence also led to more in-house expertise.

Before the implementation, Komplett found it challenging to have the right in-house competence to perform tasks and order the proper deliveries and services. Parallel to the standardization, Komplett's employees built new competencies specialized towards the new solution platform. This new in-house competence creates security, increased precision in all orders, and added value as the expertise is closely aligned with business operations.

The overall result of the modernization project for Komplett Group was a transformation of operational and technological capabilities, providing the company with a robust platform to meet both current and future challenges.

An agile implementation process to the finishing line

The project started in June 2022 with an analysis phase, while the realization phase began in the autumn of the same year. After rewriting a more significant portion of the functionality in the webshops due to the new IT platform, the platform went live in October 2023, just before an intense campaign period with Black Week and Christmas shopping. With Pearl as a partner, the process was smooth and nearly flawless.

– We chose Pearl as our implementation partner because they impressed us the most with how they planned to solve this. The architecture and work process they proposed were the most attractive to us – and they already knew us and our processes well. But we wanted to challenge and look at things anew – and they were up for it.

The project team at Komplett came from a world that is distinctly agile and modern in its development practices – while Pearl, on the other hand, was used to working with large, complex ERP implementation projects.

In this context, we may have contributed to changing how Pearl works. They have been good at adapting to a more agile implementation process, which has resulted in a very smooth migration from the old to the new, says Pedersen.

Pearl's implementation methodology ensured that critical operations remained stable throughout the process.

– We experienced very few errors during production, no downtime, and very close collaboration on what was needed to go live with the new system. It was a good, agile development and implementation process with an excellent result, Pedersen concludes.

Komplett Group. E-commerce giant implements SAP S/4HANA Cloud on Azure.

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