Executing Phase 1A of an SAP S/4HANA Implementation for a Hardline Retailer
Clarkston Consulting completed a SAP S/4HANA implementation for a hardline retailer. Read a synopsis of the project below or download the full case study.
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The client, a leading provider of tire and automotive services throughout the Midwest region, has seen substantial growth via organic expansion and acquisition over the years, with further growth expected in the near future. To support this growth, the client engaged Clarkston to initiate business transformation and the re-imagining of the core IT landscape. To enable this transformation, the client sought to thoughtfully decommission their homegrown ERP solution in favor of a modern, cloud-based solution, selecting SAP S/4HANA to be the core of this new landscape.
The client’s transformation began in March 2024 with Phase 1A – migrate financial accounting to SAP. The project team and business established a clean chart of accounts and identified SAP as the new system of record. In addition to optimizations to the chart of accounts, the project team introduced many business and SAP best practices. An industry standard 4-5-4 fiscal year for retail was adopted, benefiting the business when comparing year-over-year and standardizing reporting and associate incentive measurements across the company. The client also implemented cost centers to better delineate store costs and corporate departmental costs. Stores also became profit centers in SAP, completing the foundational pieces needed to post revenue transactions centrally.
In the fall of 2024, the program and business established a core SAP community of finance users and support resources. Interfaces with banks and partners were also established, and automation was introduced for batch processing of financial tasks. Finally, a flexible, store-facing reporting solution was implemented to offer greater visibility to stores of their own profit and loss. To prepare the business and support the go-live of SAP, the Clarkston team trained 27 users over 26 hours using 70+ training simulations.
As a result of this continued engagement, the client has successfully transitioned to the 4-5-4 calendar, paid their business partners, and increased visibility to financial transactions with a competent SAP user and support community.
Download the SAP S/4HANA Implementation for a Hardline Retailer case study, and learn more about our SAP Consulting Services by contacting us below.
Contributions by Jacob Gallagher
