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Key Takeaways What you need to know

  1. A global component manufacturer completed a successful SAP S/4HANA transformation, Salesforce CRM upgrade, and Dassault 3DExperience PLM rollout in a single global big bang go-live to support its 2030 growth strategy.

  2. The biggest change was replacing a 20-plus-year-old customized SAP ECC environment and integrating ERP, CRM, and PLM systems through holistic process design, master data governance, and program-level management to improve lead-to-order execution.

  3. This transformation matters because it reduces go-live risk, improves data integrity, and supports faster quoting, better customer management, and stronger product development; it impacts manufacturing leaders, global operations teams, IT program managers, and nearly 1,900 employees across 11 sites.

A leading global component manufacturer successfully underwent a major technical redesign to support its 2030 growth vision. This involved a “global big bang go-live,” implementing three major system solutions:

  1. SAP S/4HANA: Replacing their 20+ year old, over-customized SAP ECC system. This modern ERP system, S/4HANA, is a key component for managing core business processes.

  2. Salesforce CRM: An upgrade to their existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution, specifically to enhance sales, customer service, and overall customer journey management.

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  3. Dassault 3DExperience PLM: A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system included in the first phase of the roadmap to manage their significant engineering and design work.

The project was complex due to its global “big bang” approach. The initial challenge identified by the client was a need for program-level management, design, and architecture to integrate these systems from a people, process, and technology standpoint. Clarkston Consulting, who was already implementing SAP S/4HANA, was subsequently engaged to take on this program management role.

Our engagement was deemed critical to the project’s success, providing SAP program management and solution design expertise to ensure seamless integration and coordination across the three applications. Methodology included:

Holistic Design

The team worked with all system integrators and solution owners to design and define the full Lead-to-Order process across all systems to support their Quick-to-Quote requirements.

Data Governance

The team established a clear understanding of data flow between systems, the criticality of master data governance, and the identification of data “source of truth” to maintain data integrity.

Methodology and Tools

The team applied proven project-level methodologies at the program level to ensure effective communication with C-suite executives, alignment among project managers, and clear reporting while ensuring dependencies between projects were aligned, understood, and maintained to remain on track.

Integrated Testing and OCM

The team coordinated integrated testing across all systems with global participants to confirm the full solution’s functionality. They also provided oversight for a comprehensive Organizational Change Management (OCM) program, including communications and training, to prepare nearly 1,900 employees across eleven global sites.

The result was a successful and minimally disruptive go-live, enabling the company to meet its growth vision.