Successful SAP S/4HANA Brownfield conversion at Printus

Together with Printus Technologie, consenso carried out the Brownfield conversion of Printus GmbH from its existing on-premises SAP ECC system to SAP S/4HANA. The focus was on a low-risk, rapid and resource-efficient transformation, as well as a smooth transition to live operations.

Initial situation

The aim of the project was to migrate the existing SAP ECC system to SAP S/4HANA through a Brownfield conversion. Existing business processes and user interfaces were to remain largely unchanged. Process optimisations and innovations were deliberately planned for a later phase.

The project planning was based on the results of a previously conducted consenso Readiness Check and experience gained from comparable transformation projects.

Challenge

The main challenge was to carry out the technical transformation to SAP S/4HANA while taking into account the numerous functional and technical dependencies within the existing system landscape.

In addition to the necessary adjustments in areas such as master data, procurement, sales, supply chain and finance, the integration with SAP CRM also had to be considered. In particular, the changes to the SAP S/4HANA data model required careful review and quality assurance of financial and transactional data.

At the same time, it was essential to minimise the impact on ongoing business operations and end users.

Implementation

The project was completed in just under a year. The transformation was carried out in several iterations and, in addition to the technical conversion, included project, test and cut-over management, as well as functional support for the business departments involved.

The relevant findings identified during the Readiness Check were systematically addressed together with Printus, and the necessary adjustments were made to ensure SAP S/4HANA compatibility. Notably, all development and Basis-related activities within the project were carried out independently by the Printus SAP teams. A coaching approach was also deliberately adopted across the business departments mentioned above to ensure that Printus Technologie could continue supporting business users after the system conversion.

For the first time at Printus, SAP Cloud ALM was used exclusively for project management. A detailed cut-over plan comprising more than 350 activities was also created in Microsoft Project for the go-live. Some of these activities were coordinated through semi-automated processes using n8n.