Global SAP S/4HANA Project Update
Localization
Over the last few months the SAP team has been focused on designing Elanco’s business processes with the right global framework and consideration to local legal, regulatory, and financial requirements.
To gain feedback on the local requirements, the SAP project team began in August with a manufacturing localization workshop for the Americas here in Indianapolis and continued with scheduled workshops for Latin America (LATAM), Europe (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC).
The Latin America workshop was divided between the first week in Miami, Florida and the second week in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both weeks included employees who are actively involved in key business processes and are well versed in local requirements. We’re happy to announce that all the participants who provided feedback found the workshops useful.
We look forward to collecting more local insights and requirements at our next workshop in Frankfurt, Germany, beginning September 23.
Change Management
As we continue with localization, we’re focused on engaging a Change Leader Network who will act as advocates for the SAP Project. We’re leveraging Regional Transition Leads from Finance and Site Implementation Leads from Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to build this network. These leaders are advocates for the project. They will be able to answer questions such as “Why are we doing this? How does it impact me? How does it align to our overall strategy?”. They are also the main source of SAP project information, provide feedback to the SAP team, and serve as the first line of contact for employees.
Another resource for employees will be super users, currently known at Elanco as Power Users. Super Users are those folks who spend the most time with their hands on the keys in the system. They will participate in several SAP project activities such as business awareness and readiness, data migration, testing, training, and Hypercare. They are early adopters of the new system with hands-on experience to serve as go-to experts after Go Live.
Deployment Planning
Below are some key deployment terms that you will hear regularly throughout the project, but especially as we get closer to our January 2021 Go Live date.
- Cutover – Migration from Elanco’s current legacy ECC system to SAP S/4HANA.
- Ramp-Down Activities – Scheduled time when certain business activities need to slow down and stop before the freeze or black-out period. For example, the last day to ship product or receive inventory.
- Freeze or Black-Out Periods – Scheduled time when the SAP system won’t be accessible. This happens between ramp-down activities and Go Live.
- Hypercare – Extra focus and on-site support following Go Live to help when the system does not perform as expected.
New Go Live Date
The project team has reevaluated how best to launch the new system. We’re still on track to Go Live in Q4 2020, but decided to adopt a two-phased cutover in Q1 2021. This approach will minimize freeze or black-out dates for our largest sites, reduce the higher risk that comes with a single cutover, and allow more time for testing.
The two-phase cutover will last eight weeks – four weeks for each phase. Phase one cutover includes Latin America and Asia Pacific, and phase two includes North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Business activities will ramp down for countries in the upcoming phase and entities can continue their daily operations until the cutover deadline. Entities who transition to S/4 will be able to operate with other entities who have implemented S/4.
Vacation Guidance
With the new Go-Live date in Q1 2021, we recommend the project team members schedule their vacation on/around holiday weeks in their respective countries. Any requests during this time must be approved by their team leads. There will be no time off during cutover and Go-Live weeks 2020/21 without approval from Ben, Ahmer, or Etienne. Thank you in advance for your dedication to ensuring a smooth and successful Go Live!