In the beginning of the year, the SAP full-service provider Nagarro ES successfully completed the SAP S/4HANA consolidation of the German pharmaceutical company Klosterfrau Healthcare Group. After a project duration of almost three years, the go-live took place on January 4, 2021 at the headquarters in Cologne and at the sites in Berlin and Lüchow. This created the basis for the rollouts at the international locations of the traditional company.
As part of the reorganization of the entire group of companies, the old structures and processes had to be adapted to the international and growth-oriented strategy. In the process, three company locations and divisions in Germany with more than 600 users, which had previously worked autonomously with different ERP systems, were merged. Particular attention was paid to process and data harmonization, data migration from two SAP and one non-SAP system, and validation of the S/4HANA system with the Fiori applications.
For the implementation, Klosterfrau relied on the proven Fit4Lifescience template from Nagarro, which is based on standard processes in the pharmaceutical industry. The template, which is individually tailored to Klosterfrau and scalable, will enable the company to make overarching processes simpler and more efficient in the future, as well as roll-out projects, site expansions and acquisitions faster. “We are proud to support a renowned company like Klosterfrau in its extensive digitization. An S/4HANA migration on this scale and across different ERP systems is a “lighthouse project” and so far unique in the German pharmaceutical industry,” says Martin Reinke, Sr Director Sales, Nagarro ES.
The migration from SAP R/3 to SAP S/4HANA On-Premise was carried out according to the Greenfield approach, the agile project methodology Scrum was used for the conception phase; the project as a whole was carried out according to the management method PRINCE2. The greatest added value for Klosterfrau lies primarily in clear structures and lean processes across locations and departments. “Thanks to the professional implementation of the project by Nagarro ES, we are ready to face the challenges of the pharmaceutical market even more efficiently and make better use of synergies,” says Christian Wurzinger, Group CFO, Klosterfrau Healthcare Group.
Professional change management was used to bring employees along on this journey and to involve them in the project. “A major contribution to the successful project implementation was above all the open and trusting cooperation of all teams as well as the joy of redesigning processes,” say Martin Frecker, Project Manager Klosterfrau, and Verena Holz, Project Manager Nagarro ES.
For over 20 years, Nagarro ES has supported pharmaceutical and life science companies to gain a competitive advantage through innovative IT solutions. Klosterfrau’s migration to SAP S/4HANA is the SAP full-service provider’s largest S/4HANA greenfield project in the pharmaceutical industry to date. For Klosterfrau it was the largest IT project since 1998 and a quantum leap into the digital age, according to Frank Roth, CIO, Klosterfrau Healthcare Group. For example, Klosterfrau uses innovative data glasses to optimize warehouse movements, thus enabling contactless intralogistics.
About Nagarro ES
Nagarro ES is a leading German full-service IT provider for critical enterprise applications and complex ERP landscapes in the digital transformation. With more than 750 employees, Nagarro ES is one of the most powerful and innovative SAP partners for German mid-sized companies and large customers with an international footprint. This is evidenced by our successful projects for many mid-sized companies and at 13 of the 30 DAX companies.
We advise our customers on IT strategy and process issues, implement and operate systems including the associated support and maintenance. In addition to many years of SAP experience in cross-industry core processes, we have distinctive and specific know-how in the retail, process industry, manufacturing, professional services and municipal sectors. We take an open-ended approach and support our customers both on-prem, in the cloud or in hybrid scenarios. In addition, we offer self-developed products to increase efficiency.
The comprehensive expertise of Nagarro ES employees in the SAP environment is not only directly tangible in our work on-site at the customer, but also certified: We are an SAP Gold Partner, SAP Cloud Focus Partner and the first partner worldwide to be awarded the SAP Recognized Expertise for SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
As part of the global Nagarro with over 8,400 employees in 26 countries, Nagarro ES offers its customers not only international reach, but also access to further technology solutions of a global player for software engineering with 1,500 SAP specialists worldwide.
About Klosterfrau Healthcare Group
The Klosterfrau Healthcare Group is a Cologne-based, modern and progressive company with a tradition dating back to 1826. At that time, the “Klosterfrau Maria Clementine Martin” founded a small company in the immediate vicinity of Cologne Cathedral to produce her remedies. In this way, the “Klosterfrau” wanted to share her rich knowledge of the healing powers of nature with all her fellow human beings. Creating health and well-being for people is and remains the ambitious goal of the activities of the Klosterfrau Healthcare Group.