SAP produced as cloud service improves dynamics of ABB’s processes

“The amount of capacity in the new system is infinite. Processing times for transactions and batch runs have been reduced significantly. A process that used to take 44 minutes, now takes seven. The run time for a report has dropped from 22 minutes to one minute,” says Hannu Jaatinen, Master Data Manager, ABB.

The SAP enterprise resource planning system has been in use at ABB since the end of the 1990s. In 2008, all units in ABB implemented the ERP system multiplying capacity needs. The need for additional capacity was essential for the smooth operation of the company’s functions and processes. However, the limits of the old platform were soon reached, meaning the company needed a new solution for ERP.

Hannu Jaatinen

The new system selected by the company, Tieto’s Dynamic SAP Landscape, includes off-the-shelf implementation models, processes and tools. ERP delivered as a cloud service enables the flexible use of capacity and 24/7 availability of services.

“Along with the system we acquired a considerable increase in capacity. That is directly visible to users. Processing times for transactions and batch runs have been reduced significantly. The dynamics have also improved. Refreshing the system used to require a time commitment; now, we can build sandbox environments faster and run them down smoothly,” says Hannu Jaatinen.

Maintenance and service costs reduced

According to Jaatinen, it is good to have all the different applications from different business units in the same server platform.

“It standardizes the production and management of services. We can now allocate resources for actions and functions more efficiently. We aim to convert this into a reduction in the cost level.”

Mr Jaatinen is also pleased with the shorter maintenance windows in the new system architecture. Refreshing the system is now more convenient and effortless, which also shows in the amount of costs.

“The maintenance and service costs have been reduced. The dynamics also allow for the development of new functions and the business units can request new tasks,” says the Master Data Manager.

Project completed with good cooperation

The implementation project of the new system lasted about five months. The migration began in December 2010 and the implementation was completed during Easter 2011.

“The project was demanding, but we stayed on schedule. We were able to match our project management model with Tieto, and the cooperation was excellent in other ways. Both parties had a good routine in supervision. Implementations are demanding projects where good communication skills and stretching are required from all parties. Good personal chemistry is important,” says Mr Jaatinen.

The challenge
The SAP enterprise resource planning system has been in use at ABB since the end of the 1990s. In 2008, all business units implemented the ERP system multiplying the capacity needs. The need for additional capacity was essential for the smooth operation of the company’s functions and processes. However, the limits of the old platform were soon reached, meaning the company needed a new solution for ERP.

The solution
The new system selected by the company, Tieto’s Dynamic SAP Landscape, includes off-the-shelf implementation models, processes and tools. ERP delivered as a cloud service enables the flexible use of capacity and 24/7 availability of services. With Dynamic SAP Landscape, companies can use the applications without investing in hardware or technological expertise.

Added value
The unlimited capacity has significantly reduced the processing times of transactions and batch runs. Dynamics have also improved. ABB can build sandbox environments faster than before and run them down smoothly. This makes the dynamic development of operations easier. Maintenance and service costs have also been reduced.

ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 130,000 people out of which 7,000 in Finland.
www.abb.com