S/4HANA Migration Assessment for a Leading Global Fashion Brand | Success Story
Client Overview
A prominent $1B luxury footwear and fashion brand with a strong global presence across retail, wholesale, and D2C channels embarked on a journey to modernize its technology landscape. With operations spanning 300 stores worldwide, the client aimed to improve business agility, enhance inventory visibility, and streamline processes.
Objective
The client’s primary goal was to embark on a multi-phase, multi-year transformation to replace its legacy non-SAP Retail system with S/4HANA Retail and transition from SAP AFS to S/4HANA Fashion. The project aims to develop a comprehensive global design leveraging their existing SAP AFS framework, replace the legacy Retail system, and execute a phased transformation that balances business risk and value across global geographies and brands. To ensure a seamless transition, Applexus conducted a comprehensive migration assessment, evaluating system readiness, data integrity, and process alignment across multiple regions.
Key Challenges
- Outdated ERP Landscape – The client’s existing legacy Retail system was no longer scalable, limiting growth and operational efficiency.
- Siloed Business Functions – Retail, Wholesale, and E-commerce operations ran on separate systems, causing inefficiencies and redundant processes.
- Inventory Management Issues – Manual reconciliation and outdated stock-tracking systems resulted in inaccurate inventory data, affecting order fulfillment.
- Complex System Integrations – Custom-built integrations between disparate systems were rigid and difficult to modify, slowing down business adaptability.
- Limited Omnichannel Capabilities – Store inventory could not be effectively used to fulfill online orders (e.g., Buy Online, Pickup In-Store; Buy Online, Ship from Store).
- Global Logistics Complexity – The migration had to support operations across multiple regions, ensuring seamless supply chain integration and compliance.
Global Luxury Fashion Brand
S/4HANA Retail, S/4HANA Fashion
The client aimed to modernize its operations by replacing its outdated legacy Retail system with S/4HANA Retail and preparing for a global migration from SAP AFS to S/4HANA Fashion. Applexus conducted an in-depth assessment using CeleRITE to analyze the client’s technical landscape, business processes, and data readiness. The evaluation provided a clear migration roadmap, optimizing inventory management, streamlining integrations, and ensuring a cost-effective rollout across multiple regions.
What We Did
To address these challenges, Applexus conducted a structured S/4HANA migration assessment using its AI-powered CeleRITE platform, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of technical and business readiness. The assessment included:
- System Readiness Analysis: Evaluated the current retail system and SAP AFS environment to identify key transition areas.
- Comprehensive Analysis: Deployed CeleRITE to analyze configuration, code, data, integrations and access controls to identify potential risks and inefficiencies.
- RICEFW Assessment: Analyzed 5,996 custom objects and 1,016 RICEFWs, recommending 75% automated remediation to streamline migration.
- Business Process Workshops: Engaged with stakeholders to validate existing workflows and align future state processes with S/4HANA Retail.
- Inventory management Analysis: Assessed stock management processes, uncovering data inconsistencies caused by manual reconciliation and the outdated legacy Retail system.
- Technical Debt Analysis: Reviewed legacy customizations, integrations, and enhancements, identifying remediation needs before migration.
- Data Quality Assessment: Analyzed master data gaps and inconsistencies to develop a structured data migration strategy.
- Automation & Scalability Evaluation: Assessed ERP limitations, identifying high operational costs due to a lack of automation and scalability.
- Integration Review: Identified challenges in connecting Retail, Wholesale, and E-commerce systems to enable seamless order fulfillment.
Key Outcomes
- Recommended Selective Transition Approach: Leveraging CeleRITE, Applexus proposed a selective transition from SAP AFS to S/4HANA Fashion, minimizing complexity and project risks.
- Structured Migration Roadmap: Developed a phased transition plan from the legacy Retail system to S/4HANA Retail.
- Cost-Effective Resourcing Model: Proposed a hybrid staffing model, balancing internal expertise with targeted Applexus support to optimize costs.
- Optimized Inventory Management: Identified stock discrepancies and proposed automation-driven solutions for real-time tracking.
- Improved Data Governance: Provided strategies for master data standardization and cleansing, addressing inconsistencies across products, customers, and suppliers.
- Procurement & Supplier Efficiencies: Advised on flexible purchasing contracts within AATP of S/4HANA Fashion to enhance supplier negotiations and secure production slots effectively.
- Reduced Technical Complexity: Suggested system improvements to automate inventory tracking, reducing reliance on manual reconciliation.
- Optimized Omnichannel Fulfillment: Recommended strategies to enable store inventory utilization for Buy Online Pickup in Store (BOPIS) and Buy Online Ship from Store (BOSS).
- Phased Global Rollout Plan: Designed a multi-phase multi year structured deployment plan across the US, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, and the UK to address logistical challenges.