Thinklytics

Mid-Market Industrial Manufacturer (representative) · Manufacturing · United States · 9 weeks

Duplicate master data cut and S/4HANA migration unblocked in 9 weeks

A representative engagement. The trial conversion had failed because the master data would not load cleanly. We profiled, deduplicated, and reconciled the data, and the migration came off the critical path.

Challenge

A roughly 2,200-person manufacturer on SAP ECC for sixteen years had a trial conversion fail. The same vendor existed five times, materials sat under several part numbers across plants, and units of measure did not conform. The system integrator treated cleansing as a small line item, and it slipped. Finance could not reconcile and the go-live date was at risk.

Approach

We deployed a Data Rescue Pod alongside the integrator. We profiled the full master data estate, agreed matching and survivorship rules with the data owners, deduplicated customers, vendors, and materials with audit trails, and retired obsolete and dark data. Every cleansing decision became a documented transformation rule, so the migration was repeatable. We ran representative mock loads and reconciled against source by object and by value.

Outcome

The trial conversion that had failed now passed. The data workstream came off the critical path, the integrator held its go-live date, and finance reconciled on the first close after cutover.

The platform was never the problem

The S/4HANA software worked. What failed was sixteen years of master data nobody had governed. We measured the real condition of it first, with evidence, so the remediation plan was grounded in facts rather than assumptions.

Clean once, migrate once

We deduplicated and cleansed against rules the business owners approved, then turned those decisions into the transformation rules the migration reused. No disconnect between cleanup and the move, and a full audit trail behind every change.

Proof the data landed correct

We reconciled every load against source by object and by value, so finance could prove completeness and correctness on the first close. That is what let leadership commit to the date with confidence.

Results

  • 9 wks From kickoff to a clean, reconciled load
  • 41k to 12k Duplicate vendor and material records resolved
  • $640K Annual reconciliation and rework labor avoided
  • On time Go-live held with zero data-related slippage

The platform work was never our problem. Our data was, and it was the one thing nobody had measured. Thinklytics found the real condition of it, fixed it, and gave us a number we could take to the board.

VP of IT, Industrial manufacturer (representative)

In the client's terms

The question

What stops reconciling the day we cut over?

The situation

A manufacturer of around 2,200 people, sixteen years on SAP ECC, had a trial conversion fail. The same vendor existed five times, materials carried several part numbers across plants, units of measure did not conform. Finance could not reconcile and the go-live date was at risk.

What we found

The integrator had priced cleansing as a line item and it was not one. Sixteen years of master data drift is a programme in itself, and treating it as a task inside someone else's plan is why the trial conversion failed rather than why it was late.

What it produced

The trial conversion that had failed passed. The data workstream came off the critical path, the integrator held its go-live date, and finance reconciled on the first close after cutover. Duplicate vendor and material records fell from 41k to 12k, avoiding $640K a year in reconciliation and rework labour.

The roadmap

A Data Rescue Pod ran alongside the integrator rather than replacing them. The full master data estate was profiled, matching and survivorship rules were agreed with the data owners rather than assumed, and customers, vendors and materials were deduplicated with audit trails. Every cleansing decision became a documented transformation rule so the load is repeatable, then mock loads were run and reconciled to source by object and by value.

The work behind this result

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Frequently asked questions

Why do S/4HANA trial conversions fail?

Master data drift that was priced as a task rather than a workstream. This manufacturer had sixteen years on ECC, the same vendor existing five times and materials under several part numbers across plants. The trial conversion failed on that, then passed after nine weeks of remediation.

How long does SAP master data remediation take?

Nine weeks here from kickoff to a clean, reconciled load, running alongside the integrator rather than replacing them. Duplicate vendor and material records fell from 41,000 to 12,000 and the go-live date held.

How do you prove migrated data is correct?

Reconcile every load against source by object and by value. That is what let finance at this manufacturer close the first period after cutover, and it is the difference between the tables matching and the numbers matching.