Modern systems and optimized processes

With 1,500 employees and a turnover of almost Euro 1.3B, badenova is one of the leading energy suppliers in southern Germany. Best known for its strict focus on driving the energy transition through expansion of renewable energy in its region, the company has become a trail blazer, also pioneering digitalization in energy services.

When it comes to IT infrastructure badenova prefers the latest technology and best suited solutions to provide the best customer services possible. Thus, it was an undisputed decision to turn to a modern, modular expandable system landscape around SAP S/4HANA as the digital core after twenty years of successfully running SAP’s legacy ERP.

Georg Klein, IT Project Lead at badenova, explains: “Our old system served us well for many years. At some point, however, every system enters a phase where it no longer meets current requirements. Then it’s time for a new beginning.”

One project, many goals

An SAP transformation project offers opportunities beyond transitioning to the new platform as the only objective. badenova also decided to revisit processes with the goal of separating energy industry-specific processes based on SAP Industry Solutions for Utilities (SAP IS-U) from those of logistics and finance of the core areas. Furthermore, adjustments to the SAP organizational structure such as the breakdown of controlling areas were added to the transformation scope. Pursuing these goals presented the obvious challenge: migrating the legacy system with its large data volume while running the SAP IS-U in parallel requires an experienced migration partner to execute. badenova found the necessary expertise with the Digital Engineering Experts at Nagarro and their partner Natuvion.

Georg Klein confirms: “Complex transformation processes require a smart and technology-savvy approach. This is why we chose Nagarro and Natuvion, as both demonstrate exceptional strength in this respect.”

Selective Data Transition paves the way

Once badenova had selected the preferred partners for this project, a joint team was formed to work on a detailed concept that should be executed in several steps. In order to turn the data into more manageable portions, the team started separating processes, functions, and data of the SAP IS-U system from those of the ERP core. Processes stayed in the source system while the data required for SAP S/4HANA was transferred from the SAP ECC system. The data transfer that included the current and previous fiscal year and all open orders and transactions followed the Selective Data Transition method. This allowed the team to gradually transfer the data records to the new system, causing little to no disruption to the business.

Based on the productive system, a new ‘shell’ was set up for the selective data transfer. The team created the shell as a copy of the production system without the application data and moved only historical data required to work in the new system. This step was supported by Natuvion Data Conversion Server (DCS), the intelligent transformation tool for the automated migration of large data.

Five compelling reasons to proceed with Selective Data Transition

As part of the migration to SAP S/4HANA, the project used the opportunity to address several other topics. Master data inconsistencies and redundancies were eliminated, and the largest controlling area was split according to the new organizational structure and controlling requirements.­ Furthermore, profit center structures were optimized as the basis for document splits and a profit center and segment balance sheet.

SAP S/4HANA transformation success can be planned

After 21 months and four test migrations, the ERP modernization project execution concluded with a final dress rehearsal and cutover. Since May 13 2024, badenova has been live on SAP S/4HANA. SAP’s modular architecture allows badenova IT to extend the landscape in the future with solutions such as SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to further capitalize on its potential.

With such a functional and data-optimized ERP system as an excellent foundation, the business can proceed with further digitalization. Reason enough for Georg Klein to praise teamwork as a critical success factor: “Nagarro and Natuvion were both instrumental in our efforts to take our IT infrastructure to another level. It is now the basis for new and flexible business processes, and optimized customer service. Twenty years of historically grown structures and the challenging data situation could not stop the team from finishing strong. We experienced a great collaboration. Professionalism, partnership mentality, and thorough planning resulted in a smooth transformation.”