Case Study: Zero-Issue S/4HANA Upgrade with INT4 Suite | Glencore | Int4
Success Story
Glencore, one of the world’s largest globally diversified natural resource companies, upgraded its SAP landscape from S/4HANA 1610 to 1809 with FI as the leading module. Using Int4 Suite, the team validated over 300 interface posting scenarios across more than 20 source systems worldwide in a four-week window – and went live with zero integration production issues.
300+ scenarios Inbound interface postings tested
20+ systems Non-SAP source systems worldwide
4-week window Full regression test timeframe
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Upgrade at a glance Zero issues
4,500+ Test cases
5 sec Per test case
0 Production issues
Solution
Int4 Suite
Automated, scriptless test case creation and regression testing that virtualized every non-SAP connected system across the upgrade.
The Challenge
Proving an Upgrade Changed Nothing
It Shouldn’t Have
Glencore – a top commodity trader with offices and mines around the world, founded in the 1970s and listed on the London Stock Exchange – needed to upgrade its SAP landscape from S/4HANA 1610 to the new 1809 version, with FI as the leading module.
The upgrade itself wasn’t the hard part. Proving that nothing had silently changed, across hundreds of scenarios and dozens of external systems, on a tight deadline, was.
Problems to Solve Three constraints
1
How to prove that every integration scenario in the new 1809 S/4HANA system works in exactly the same way as it used to in the previous version.
2
How to build a comprehensive test case base that covers all business scenarios.
3
How to test a permutation of over 300 inbound interface posting scenarios from more than 20 source systems worldwide, in a limited timeframe of 4 weeks.
The Solution
Fast. Secure. Automated.
After a market valuation of available options, Glencore selected Int4 Suite to power its interface testing strategy – a choice that made solving each of the problems above possible.
Test Automation
One Click. Everything Else Automated.
Int4 Suite automates, virtualizes, and produces a complete result report behind every test script execution – pinpointing exactly what to fix when a case fails. Running a test case comes down to selecting a list and clicking “Execute.”
Business Process Flow
Test Cases Chained Into Real Processes
Individual test cases were bound together into full business process flows – for example, two invoices and a payment posted, followed by a matching clearing document. Each posting was compared automatically against its productive sibling.
Confidence in the System
A Test Base Built From Production Reality
The productive system itself was used as the source for the test case base, catalogued by scenario using Int4 Suite’s message selector – turning that base into a litmus test every future change has to pass before reaching production.
The ability to create a test case in 5 seconds without scripting makes all the difference when it comes to building a complete coverage of your test case base.
Urs Boomhuis – Integration Lead, SAP CoE, Glencore
Pains & Gains
What Changed for Glencore’s Integration Team
A global, multi-system upgrade carried real risk of silent regressions. Here’s what automation replaced, one constraint at a time.
Pains
✕ Needed complete testing coverage for a permutation of 300+ FI document scenarios across 20+ non-SAP source systems worldwide
✕ No fast way to verify over 4,500 test cases
✕ No straightforward, unified procedure for raising integration-related defects in HP ALM
✕ Needed to run integration testing with the least possible involvement from 20 non-SAP connected systems
Gains
✓ A report scanning production and listing 4,500+ live iDoc numbers guaranteed complete testing scope coverage
✓ Int4 Suite posts a copy of each productive reference document into the upgraded test environment and compares both down to database field level, automatically
✓ A defect-creation procedure in HP ALM now links directly to the Int4 Suite result report, with everything a developer needs to investigate
✓ No non-SAP resources required – every connected system is virtualized, making the SAP-side upgrade transparent to other system owners
Using Int4 Suite we can introduce continuous testing with a complete test case base executed on a weekly or daily basis.
Urs Boomhuis – Integration Lead, SAP CoE, Glencore
Conclusion in Numbers
A Regression Test Base Big Enough to Trust
The scale of the test base is what made zero production issues possible – not luck, but coverage.
0 Zero integration production issues after the upgrade project go-live – proof that Int4 Suite’s interface regression testing was complete.
After the upgrade project go-live, we had 0 (zero) integration production issues, which proves that Int4 Suite interface regression testing was complete.
Urs Boomhuis – Integration Lead, SAP CoE, Glencore
4,500+
Test cases created and executed
5 sec
For a single test case creation, without scripting
100+
Defects registered based on Int4 Suite result reports
10
Version differences found, enabling a shift-left strategy
Beyond This Project
Int4 Suite Means…
Codeless Test Automation for SAP Systems Integration.
Enterprise integration of SAP systems is often built on reusing existing components – which calls for careful regression testing. That’s even more of a challenge now that continuous integration and continuous delivery are becoming common practice. A faster development pace sets a high bar for testing tools, because it demands continuous testing.
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Built for SAP S/4HANA upgrades and migrations Designed for large, multi-system global landscapes Part of Int4 Suite
