DEHN: International SAP Rollout – Designing Global Processes with Local and Legal Compliance
Optimizing Business Operations Through SAP Implementation and Rollout
DEHN is a leading international family-owned company specializing in electrical engineering, headquartered in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. The company supports key global trends, including electromobility, renewable energy, and critical infrastructure protection. Reliable energy and data networks require effective protection solutions, which DEHN provides.
DEHN implemented a standardized SAP solution across its global locations to streamline operations and enhance efficiency. The goal was to unify business processes, increase transparency, and ensure compliance with country-specific legal and tax regulations. Third-party systems that had been in use up to that point were to be replaced by SAP.
SAP ERP Rollout – Implementing Standardized Global Processes
Key Benefits of the Rollout for DEHN
- Standardized Global Processes: Consistent operations across international locations while ensuring compliance with local regulations.
- Improved Efficiency: Optimized workflows and automation reduce manual effort and increase productivity.
- Enhanced Data Transparency: Centralized data management enables better decision-making and real-time insights.
- Scalability for Growth: A flexible system that supports DEHN’s expansion and future business needs.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensures adherence to country-specific legal and tax requirements.
- Integration Across Departments: Seamless collaboration between finance, logistics, and production.
The success of our SAP rollout projects is in large part due to the professional and constructive collaboration between DEHN and CONSILIO.
In the context of various process workshops - held both on-site at our global subsidiaries and at our headquarters - CONSILIO's exeptional expertise and supportive approach enabled us to define and implement our processes efficiently, effectively, and goal-oriented.
Challenges: Template-Based SAP Implementation Approach
The SAP implementation used a template approach, defining standardized processes for all locations to ensure a consistent and efficient rollout. With DEHN operating production, sales, and service locations in 20 countries, the main challenge was meeting diverse local and legal requirements while integrating them into the template solution.
At the project’s outset, a joint DEHN and CONSILIO team conducted on-site fit-gap analyses to identify discrepancies between existing processes and the template. These gaps were addressed through prototyping, demonstrated on-site, refined iteratively, and thoroughly tested before user training and go-live.
The template was expanded to include new processes such as consignment warehouse processing, cost-based invoicing in intercompany transactions, subcontracting, and a lean production process. Additionally, product cost planning was optimized for the rollouts.
Data migration and system mapping were particularly challenging, requiring the seamless transition from site-specific legacy systems to SAP.
Simplified reporting/consolidation and Improved cost transparency
Achieved Project Goals
- Rollout of SAP across international locations.
- Integration of country-specific adaptations into a standardized template.
- Establishment of a single controlling area worldwide.
- Streamlined intercompany order processing and improved availability insights for end customers.
- Enhanced cost transparency through simplified reporting.
- Alignment of the German organizational structure with the global template.
- Implementation of SAP standard processes without modifications.