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Aligning processes globally
with a single ERP solution
Most big companies today are faced with having to regularly consolidate their multiple instances of enterprise resource planning (ERP) just to maintain their operating effectiveness.
Rather than taking the bold and difficult step of replacing their entire information technology (IT) platform at once, most companies find themselves forced to inherit different legacy platforms from different divisions, while adding more ERP installations piece-meal over time due to mergers and acquisitions or organic growth.
The end result is a hodge-podge of systems and applications requiring regular consolidation and cleanup just to keep it all in sync and to keep data—the lifeblood of any multinational—flowing from one function business or geographic unit to another.
But at least one of the world's leading pharmaceutical providers has bucked the trend.
A US-based pharma giant decided to install a single new ERP platform organization-wide versus multiple regional implementations. The company decided that introducing a single instance of an ERP platform—in this case, SAP—was the right thing for its business. Just as important, the company had the courage and perseverance to see it through.
"A single-instance SAP implementation of this scale required a global design, impacting every piece of the company's operations around the world," says Ellen Reilly, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) managing director.
"The client demonstrated ahead-of-the-curve thinking in looking at its business, anticipating where it was headed as a global organization, and making the tough choice to invest more time and more resources at the front end in the hope of making things a bit easier later during post-implementation."
The multi-year project was delivered in 19 sites across 10 countries—from Europe to Latin America to Asia—with over 40,000 users needed to be on-boarded to the new system.
Along the way, the team implemented nearly all of the major modules of SAP and redesigned processes across multiple businesses, including those at distribution centers (both company owned and third-party owned), manufacturing sites, and facilities related to its animal health business. The team included subject matter experts from disciplines like supply chain, valuation and controls, security, procure to pay, and finance.
The client faced business challenges that went beyond just replacing legacy systems, developing global templates, or upgrading from SAP 4.6 to ECC 6.0. Rather, it ran the gamut from enhancing, redesigning, and aligning key processes across multiple business units to introducing a first-of-its-kind Web ordering system. The new ordering system replaced aging technology and less-than-effective inventory practices with pioneering software that could process hospital and wholesaler orders in real-time—and check production schedules to project when an order would be filled.
"The client knew we had the global reach to be able to support the design, implementation and stabilization efforts with the right skills in the right locations around the world," says Rupal Thanawala, a PwC director.
"We understood the customer's needs and what it would take to help ensure the success of the implementation of a single instance globally. And we collaborated with the client on staffing needs in a manner consistent with their expectations."
Today, the project is in the production support phase, and PwC is helping manage the periodic release of upgraded functionality. The design and implementation that began in the early 2000s are now complete, and the system is being supported by a single Center of Excellence (COE) facility at the client's US world headquarters.
The company has made it a policy to bring the resources it needs from around the world into its COE to improve its ability to provide consistent support for its global IT platform from a single location. It also partners regularly with regional experts on issues of local regulation or localized exceptions to the global template.
In addition, for its part, PwC is engaged in providing ongoing enhancements to the current IT landscape by adding functionality and assisting with interface conversions, among other activities. The company is also working to bring its contract manufacturers and other third-party vendors into the system—an enhancement that was first anticipated during initial system design.
Over the course of the past decade, the client has made a significant investment in SAP implementation in the form of both internal expense and external fees. Given the level of investment, one would hope that a business would be happy with the results.
They are. In fact, the client is especially happy with the results it received from the PricewaterhouseCoopers engagement team. The PwC team, while working at BearingPoint, was named the client's Supplier of the Year for 2006, beating out nearly 22,000 other vendors for the honor.
So, just what does it take to build and sustain such a high-performing team worthy of the title Supplier of the Year from one of the world's top pharmaceutical companies?
"There's no magic," says Reilly, with a bit of soft-spoken modesty. "It's just hard work. The people on the team were really committed to success—both each other's success and the success of the project."
Naturally, she admits, good project management also played a role.
"We tried to provide the team with the right level of connectivity and support," says Reilly, "doing everything we could to make sure they were functioning well together—learning and growing with each step in the process."
with a single ERP solution
A leading global pharmaceutical maker takes on one of the largest single-instance SAP implementation projects in history
Most big companies today are faced with having to regularly consolidate their multiple instances of enterprise resource planning (ERP) just to maintain their operating effectiveness.
Rather than taking the bold and difficult step of replacing their entire information technology (IT) platform at once, most companies find themselves forced to inherit different legacy platforms from different divisions, while adding more ERP installations piece-meal over time due to mergers and acquisitions or organic growth.
The end result is a hodge-podge of systems and applications requiring regular consolidation and cleanup just to keep it all in sync and to keep data—the lifeblood of any multinational—flowing from one function business or geographic unit to another.
But at least one of the world's leading pharmaceutical providers has bucked the trend.
A US-based pharma giant decided to install a single new ERP platform organization-wide versus multiple regional implementations. The company decided that introducing a single instance of an ERP platform—in this case, SAP—was the right thing for its business. Just as important, the company had the courage and perseverance to see it through.
"A single-instance SAP implementation of this scale required a global design, impacting every piece of the company's operations around the world," says Ellen Reilly, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) managing director.
"The client demonstrated ahead-of-the-curve thinking in looking at its business, anticipating where it was headed as a global organization, and making the tough choice to invest more time and more resources at the front end in the hope of making things a bit easier later during post-implementation."
The multi-year project was delivered in 19 sites across 10 countries—from Europe to Latin America to Asia—with over 40,000 users needed to be on-boarded to the new system.
Along the way, the team implemented nearly all of the major modules of SAP and redesigned processes across multiple businesses, including those at distribution centers (both company owned and third-party owned), manufacturing sites, and facilities related to its animal health business. The team included subject matter experts from disciplines like supply chain, valuation and controls, security, procure to pay, and finance.
The client faced business challenges that went beyond just replacing legacy systems, developing global templates, or upgrading from SAP 4.6 to ECC 6.0. Rather, it ran the gamut from enhancing, redesigning, and aligning key processes across multiple business units to introducing a first-of-its-kind Web ordering system. The new ordering system replaced aging technology and less-than-effective inventory practices with pioneering software that could process hospital and wholesaler orders in real-time—and check production schedules to project when an order would be filled.
"The client knew we had the global reach to be able to support the design, implementation and stabilization efforts with the right skills in the right locations around the world," says Rupal Thanawala, a PwC director.
"We understood the customer's needs and what it would take to help ensure the success of the implementation of a single instance globally. And we collaborated with the client on staffing needs in a manner consistent with their expectations."
Today, the project is in the production support phase, and PwC is helping manage the periodic release of upgraded functionality. The design and implementation that began in the early 2000s are now complete, and the system is being supported by a single Center of Excellence (COE) facility at the client's US world headquarters.
The company has made it a policy to bring the resources it needs from around the world into its COE to improve its ability to provide consistent support for its global IT platform from a single location. It also partners regularly with regional experts on issues of local regulation or localized exceptions to the global template.
In addition, for its part, PwC is engaged in providing ongoing enhancements to the current IT landscape by adding functionality and assisting with interface conversions, among other activities. The company is also working to bring its contract manufacturers and other third-party vendors into the system—an enhancement that was first anticipated during initial system design.
Over the course of the past decade, the client has made a significant investment in SAP implementation in the form of both internal expense and external fees. Given the level of investment, one would hope that a business would be happy with the results.
They are. In fact, the client is especially happy with the results it received from the PricewaterhouseCoopers engagement team. The PwC team, while working at BearingPoint, was named the client's Supplier of the Year for 2006, beating out nearly 22,000 other vendors for the honor.
So, just what does it take to build and sustain such a high-performing team worthy of the title Supplier of the Year from one of the world's top pharmaceutical companies?
"There's no magic," says Reilly, with a bit of soft-spoken modesty. "It's just hard work. The people on the team were really committed to success—both each other's success and the success of the project."
Naturally, she admits, good project management also played a role.
"We tried to provide the team with the right level of connectivity and support," says Reilly, "doing everything we could to make sure they were functioning well together—learning and growing with each step in the process."
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