A Global Template for Scalable SAP Transformation
How NETZSCH is harmonizing its established process and system landscape to lay the foundation for international SAP S/4HANA rollouts.
From Evolved Systems to a Common Global Process Language
NETZSCH is an international industrial company with production sites in several countries. In its Pumps & Systems business unit, the company wanted to lay the foundation for more harmonized processes that could support international operations. The starting point was an ERP and process landscape that had evolved over many years and included various systems, such as SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business One, and TOTVS.
The next step was to align the international organization around a shared process foundation alongside its technology landscape. Without this common basis, future rollouts would have remained more dependent on local solutions, required additional coordination and offered limited comparability across locations.
The objective was therefore ambitious: develop a harmonized SAP S/4HANA template as the foundation for future international rollouts, standardize processes and create consistent transparency and governance at group level. At the same time, the template needed to accommodate local requirements, particularly in markets with complex regulatory environments such as Brazil and India.
When Local Process Environments Limit Controllability
The main challenge stems from the complexity of the international setup. Individual locations use different systems and locally established processes while also operating under country-specific regulatory requirements. In Brazil and India, for example, legal requirements related to the movement of goods, taxation and documentation need to be taken into account. NETZSCH therefore needs a way to create global consistency while preserving necessary local variations.
Because of this, it is essential to balance global standardization with local realities. The template needs to provide clear direction without becoming a rigid headquarters mandate. Legal requirements must be met, while necessary local deviations need to be identified systematically and incorporated into the rollout in a controlled manner.
The goal was clear: NETZSCH needed a global process foundation that would support standardization while accommodating legitimate local requirements. This became the core of the project: a shared SAP S/4HANA blueprint designed for global use with sufficient flexibility to address location-specific needs.
Building a Global Template
Rather than replicating the setup of an existing location, the team developed a neutral global blueprint to guide future rollouts. Each location can be assessed against this blueprint: Which processes already align with the global standard? Where would adjustments add value? And where do local requirements need to be deliberately incorporated?
Process refinement was central to the approach. MHP focused on selectively evolving existing processes rather than rebuilding them from the ground up. Processes that already worked well and were close to the standard could be retained. Where improvements were needed, processes were adapted, aligned more closely with the SAP standard, and harmonized for global use.
This approach matched NETZSCH's starting point. The company had already established a technological foundation with SAP S/4HANA and was ready to advance its process landscape systematically. Existing structures were developed into a scalable template framework that combines proven processes with consistent data models and standardized ways of working.
An End-to-End Approach Creates Value Across the Value Chain
The implementation follows a consistent end-to-end process approach, reflected in the project's organization around end-to-end streams such as Source-to-Pay, Lead-to-Cash, and Plan-to-Produce. This model moves beyond functional silos and enables teams to view each process as a whole, from start to finish. MHP structures this approach across three levels, moving from overarching end-to-end processes through larger process areas to specific activities.
Global Collaboration Starts with Involvement
Active participation from international locations was a key factor in the project's success. The template was developed as a collaborative model that incorporated experience and process expertise from multiple countries.
Change management was an integral part of the project. Transparent communication, strong sponsorship and close collaboration across locations helped ensure that all relevant stakeholders were involved. Project satisfaction reached 4.6 out of 5 across more than 100 project team members, indicating broad organizational support for the template alongside the process work itself.
„With MHP, we had a partner for Project HORIZON that brought both strong methodology and deep subject-matter expertise. Their extensive SAP S/4HANA expertise, professional change management and clearly structured project methodology provided valuable support throughout the project. Together, we developed a global template that now provides a solid foundation for our international rollouts. Our collaboration was consistently open and solution-oriented, with a strong sense of partnership.“
A Proven Foundation for International Rollouts
With its global SAP S/4HANA template, NETZSCH has established a consistent process foundation for further international scaling:
- 9 global end-to-end processes implemented in the template
- 515 Level 3 processes documented
- 1,335 test cases successfully completed
- A common process language established across locations
- Greater transparency and governance across national boundaries
- Global requirements structured and incorporated into the template framework
The result is a proven foundation for upcoming rollouts that supports global standardization while allowing location-specific requirements to be addressed in a structured way.
