Article

With a Strategic ERP Migration to the Cloud, Bain Walks the Talk

We applied our playbook internally to deliver a transformation that simplifies operations and supports future growth.

By Florian Braun, Tony Pagliarulo, and Michael Heric

min read


While many organizations urgently need to migrate their enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform to the cloud, their motivations vary. In our case, rapid growth and the need to support a multifaceted business provided the push. To optimize global operations and accommodate future growth, we took a page from our playbook for clients and embarked on a business-led ERP migration in partnership with SAP. Over the last 20 years, we doubled our number of global offices, integrated approximately 25 acquisitions, and grew our full-time employee headcount fivefold. That expansion manifested a complex tech landscape that included a web of homegrown systems and a heavily customized ERP platform. Each new acquisition presented a tech integration hurdle. Scaling was a challenge. A co-owned journey, end to end After an extensive vetting process, we selected SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition for its built-in industry standard practices and flexible architecture, which allowed us to integrate end-to-end processes across a heterogenous set of SaaS platforms. Additionally, it supported localization and compliance across our geographic footprint and enabled us to integrate acquired companies seamlessly, while future-proofing our tech stack. Just as we advise our clients, we began with an airtight case for change, pitching the migration as not just a check-the-box IT exercise but an opportunity to simplify our operations and ultimately transform our business. "The deployment of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition without customization has provided us with a strong foundation. We’ve built a future-proof architecture that promotes standardization, simplification, and the use of industry best practices, while also harnessing continuous innovation to create an agile enterprise." Ramesh Razdan \| Chief Information Officer, Bain and Company Together with SAP, we built a well-oiled machine that accelerated the transition to the cloud. Our team of ERP and digital transformation experts collaborated with SAP’s counterparts, working in lockstep to redesign processes and continually test the platform’s efficacy as dedicated “super users.” The target was fully standardized core processes with zero customizations, to streamline future add-ons and upgrades. We achieved this with rigorous change management, reinforcing the need to accept SAP standards where possible while creating required workarounds as needed. A big-bang implementation Clear key performance indicators allowed us to track progress and course-correct throughout the process and deliver S/4HANA end to end in under three years, despite a massive shift to remote work during the pandemic. Four years after initiation, we’re running all core financials in 40 countries on the platform and are seeing the business benefits. Real-time data enables better, faster decision making. Automated core processes have reduced manual work, enabled seamless updates, and allowed us to onboard acquisitions more efficiently. As we continue to grow, we now have an ERP system that is sustainable, scalable, and better equipped to manage the complexity of our business. Moreover, this effort helped us validate the approach we take with clients and arrive at a solid proof point: firsthand experience with an SAP cloud migration that delivered superior results.

While many organizations urgently need to migrate their enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform to the cloud, their motivations vary. In our case, rapid growth and the need to support a multifaceted business provided the push. To optimize global operations and accommodate future growth, we took a page from our playbook for clients and embarked on a business-led ERP migration in partnership with SAP.

Over the last 20 years, we doubled our number of global offices, integrated approximately 25 acquisitions, and grew our full-time employee headcount fivefold. That expansion manifested a complex tech landscape that included a web of homegrown systems and a heavily customized ERP platform. Each new acquisition presented a tech integration hurdle. Scaling was a challenge.

A co-owned journey, end to end

After an extensive vetting process, we selected SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition for its built-in industry standard practices and flexible architecture, which allowed us to integrate end-to-end processes across a heterogenous set of SaaS platforms. Additionally, it supported localization and compliance across our geographic footprint and enabled us to integrate acquired companies seamlessly, while future-proofing our tech stack. Just as we advise our clients, we began with an airtight case for change, pitching the migration as not just a check-the-box IT exercise but an opportunity to simplify our operations and ultimately transform our business.

"The deployment of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition without customization has provided us with a strong foundation. We’ve built a future-proof architecture that promotes standardization, simplification, and the use of industry best practices, while also harnessing continuous innovation to create an agile enterprise."

Ramesh Razdan | Chief Information Officer, Bain and Company

Together with SAP, we built a well-oiled machine that accelerated the transition to the cloud. Our team of ERP and digital transformation experts collaborated with SAP’s counterparts, working in lockstep to redesign processes and continually test the platform’s efficacy as dedicated “super users.” The target was fully standardized core processes with zero customizations, to streamline future add-ons and upgrades. We achieved this with rigorous change management, reinforcing the need to accept SAP standards where possible while creating required workarounds as needed.

A big-bang implementation

Clear key performance indicators allowed us to track progress and course-correct throughout the process and deliver S/4HANA end to end in under three years, despite a massive shift to remote work during the pandemic. Four years after initiation, we’re running all core financials in 40 countries on the platform and are seeing the business benefits. Real-time data enables better, faster decision making. Automated core processes have reduced manual work, enabled seamless updates, and allowed us to onboard acquisitions more efficiently.

As we continue to grow, we now have an ERP system that is sustainable, scalable, and better equipped to manage the complexity of our business. Moreover, this effort helped us validate the approach we take with clients and arrive at a solid proof point: firsthand experience with an SAP cloud migration that delivered superior results.