Digital Innovation Leap at BÄR Cargolift – SAP S/4HANA 2023 FP03 OnPremise as the Foundation for the Future

The transition to SAP S/4HANA is complex and requires not only technical expertise but also structural clarity and strategic planning. BÄR Cargolift faced this challenge with an ambitious goal: to ensure a smooth transition with minimal downtime and maximum process reliability.

It was especially important to involve all stakeholders early on — from business units to the IT partner — and to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing system landscape. We are therefore all the more pleased to have successfully completed this demanding project together with SOA.

Instead of following the classic multi-stage migration model—migrating development, then testing, then production—BÄR Cargolift opted for a lean but effective approach: building a fully functional S/4HANA sandbox from a copy of the production system. After go-live, the development and test systems are created as copies from the new S/4 production system.

This approach gave the project team access to an S/4HANA system with BÄR-specific data and configurations already six months before go-live, allowing for intensive testing. The high level of SAP standardization in the existing system significantly reduced the effort required for custom Z-development adjustments. This enabled the team to focus on process adaptations and testing. Two comprehensive testing phases and targeted system optimizations greatly increased the operational reliability of the future S/4 system.

Another milestone was the successful H4S4 conversion in the HR area by mmmake, representing a forward-looking step toward a fully modern SAP landscape.

The collaboration between BÄR, XEPTUM, SOA People, and other partners was characterized by clarity, open communication, and precise task allocation. The go-live was carefully prepared and coordinated at the task level with a detailed cutover plan involving all stakeholders. This ensured it was always clear who needed to contribute what, and when.

The result: An almost uninterrupted start of the new system with stable processes and immediate operational readiness from day one.

Thanks to clearly defined roles, close coordination, and a precise cutover plan, the project team was able to ensure an almost seamless go-live. Operations continued the very next day, and all challenges were resolved quickly during the hypercare phase.

The success is measurable:

• The new SAP S/4HANA system is stable, high-performing, and up to date with the latest release.
• The project timeline was shortened by six months.
• The migration was completed entirely within the planned budget and schedule.