Legacy SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA Migration: Digital Transformation for a Baltic Heat Energy Provider

Discover how LeverX helped a Baltic heat energy provider modernize its enterprise landscape with SAP S/4HANA. The project delivered a seamless migration from SAP ECC, streamlined operations, improved analytics with SAP BW/4HANA, and enhanced user experience through SAP Fiori.

Client

Our client is a leading Baltic heat energy provider, supplying over 70% of the heat energy in a major European city. The company generates over 30% of the total heat energy in its own heating plants and boiler houses, using natural gas, wood chips, and other renewable resources.

The company generates over 30% of the total heat energy using its own facilities, relying on a combined energy portfolio that includes natural gas, wood chips, and other renewable resources. It is this existing reliance on fossil fuels that prompted the client to implement the long-term "Green Course" strategy, aimed at profound transformation. As part of this strategy, the company aims to produce 90% of its heat energy from renewable sources by 2030.

To successfully execute this massive transition and manage regulatory complexity, the company initiated a large-scale digital transformation project aimed at replacing legacy systems with a modern platform for data-driven decision-making and ensuring sustainable growth.

Challenge

For many years, the client had relied on a deeply integrated SAP ECC system, which became the core of its operational activity. However, as operational and regulatory requirements evolved, several challenges began to hinder business efficiency and the realization of sustainability initiatives critically.

Legacy system limitations

• The deep integration of the legacy SAP ECC system into core business functions restricted modern automation capabilities.
• The existing SAP ECC system and reliance on manual workflows created significant inefficiency in daily operations and limited overall business agility.
• Reliance on manual and paper-based processes led to delays and reduced data accuracy and reliability.

Lack of real-time visibility

• Managers faced difficulties accessing up-to-date information across departments. 
• The absence of real-time analytics and unified data reporting slowed decision-making and reduced trust in system-generated insights.

User experience challenges

• Outdated system interfaces limited user adoption and productivity. 
• Employees lacked intuitive tools that could support efficient and compliant task execution.

Regulatory and sustainability demands

• As part of its “Green Course” strategy, the company needed a robust, modern ERP platform capable of supporting compliance with evolving environmental and energy regulations while enabling sustainable growth and investment planning.

To overcome these challenges and align its IT landscape with strategic goals, the client partnered with LeverX, leveraging its deep expertise in SAP solutions and utilities sector knowledge.

Solution

LeverX managed the migration using the Brownfield scenario from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA. The Brownfield scenario was chosen as strategically optimal because it allowed the system to be modernized while preserving valuable historical data, configurations, and settings. This approach minimized downtime, reduced costs, and ensured business continuity for a critically important service provider.

Key aspects of our work included:

1. Architectural decisions and justification

The solution was based on modules and tools specifically selected to address key challenges, aligning the IT landscape with the strategic goals of the utility sector:

• SAP S/4HANA and SAP IS-U (Industry Solution for Utilities): The implementation of SAP IS-U was critical for modernizing complex billing, tariff management, and consumer invoicing, which is essential for ongoing regulatory compliance in the utility sector.
• SAP S/4HANA Plant Maintenance (EAM): Modernization of EAM enabled a shift to advanced asset management and planning for the extensive heat network (700 km), directly addressing the need to improve supply reliability and reduce operational risk.
• SAP BW/4HANA for Real-Time Analytics: This platform was implemented to create a unified, reliable data layer, which directly addresses the challenge of slow decision-making, providing management with accurate, up-to-date insights.

2. Key aspects of the work performed

• SAP Activate methodology framework: We followed the SAP Activate methodology, managing all stages — from Discover and Prepare to Explore, Realize, Deploy, and Run — ensuring a structured and efficient transition.
• Customer-vendor Integration (CVI) framework: To enable compatibility with S/4HANA’s data model, LeverX implemented the CVI migration framework, ensuring seamless integration of customer and vendor master data.
• Consistent user interface and real-time insights: Our specialists unified user interaction and analytical capabilities within the new environment. Modern user-friendly interfaces and real-time analytics supported performance improvement and proactive management.
• Compliance and integration: The project team also ensured system compliance with evolving local regulations during migration, guaranteeing uninterrupted operations and alignment with national energy legislation.

Technology Stack

The migration resulted in a modern SAP-based technology stack designed to ensure scalability, operational efficiency, and a smooth integration across the client’s business processes.

• Core ERP Platform: SAP S/4HANA (Replacing SAP ECC)
  SAP S/4HANA is a modern SAP ERP system, fundamentally replacing the legacy SAP ECC.
• SAP modules implemented: SAP Finance (FI), SAP Controlling (CO), SAP Material Management (MM), SAP Sales and Distribution (SD), SAP S/4HANA Plant Maintenance (within SAP EAM)
  Core SAP modules are designed to support key operational areas. The modules were implemented across the major departments, including Finance and Controlling, Sales, Procurement, and Plant Maintenance. 
• Connected SAP solutions implemented: SAP SuccessFactors, SAP IS-U (Industry Solution for Utilities)
  Complementary solutions extend core ERP functionality, enhancing HR operations and managing billing in the utilities sector.
• UX: SAP Fiori
  The introduction of a role-based interface helps simplify user adoption and daily operations.
• Analytics: SAP BW/4HANA
  A data warehousing and analytics layer seamlessly integrates with SAP S/4HANA to reinforce business intelligence capabilities and provide decision-makers with prompt and valuable insights.

Results

The migration from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA transformed the company, creating a fundamental platform capable of eliminating systemic challenges and enabling the achievement of strategic goals.

The implemented solution now serves around 100 employees across all major departments.

Achievement of strategic goals and regulatory compliance (Green Course):

• Sustainable foundation: A scalable and future-ready platform has been established, which is a necessary prerequisite for achieving the ambitious goal of producing 90% energy from renewable sources by 2030.
• Proactive compliance: The extended flexibility of the system guarantees strict and proactive compliance with all changing environmental and energy regulations, mitigating risks associated with regulatory complexity.
• Elimination of operational inefficiency and risks:
• Automation and efficiency: A radical reduction in manual labor has been achieved through the automation of key end-to-end business processes (MM, SD, FI/CO), eliminating inefficiency caused by paper-based processes.
• Infrastructure risk reduction: The creation of a fully integrated environment, combining finance and maintenance, minimizes the risk of unscheduled downtime and ensures seamless collaboration within critical infrastructure.
• Data reliability: The increase in data accuracy directly overcomes the problem of reduced trust in system metrics.

Improved quality of management and accelerated decision-making:

• Real-time visibility:
  The implementation of transparent, real-time analytics and reporting (via SAP BW/4HANA) eliminates delays in obtaining information, which accelerates the adoption of critically important strategic and investment decisions.
• Unified insights:
  Unified and reliable data improved cross-departmental visibility, allowing management to make decisions based on a single, verified source.

Modernization of UX:

• Increased productivity: SAP Fiori ensured the implementation of an intuitive, role-oriented interface, which overcomes the problem of low engagement and increases the daily productivity of employees previously limited by outdated ECC interfaces.

Project duration:

• Migration: 9 months
• Post-go-live optimization and support: 4 months