Upgrading a running pharmaceutical business to a new SAP release is demanding. Doing it in three countries on the same day, while also moving to the cloud, raises the stakes again. That is the program we recently delivered for a global pharmaceutical company: an upgrade from SAP S/4HANA 2020 on-premise to SAP S/4HANA 2023 on RISE with SAP Private Cloud, with one coordinated go-live across India, the US and the UK, completed in 26 weeks including hypercare.
Here is what made it work, and what we would tell any team planning something similar.
Why one go-live instead of a phased roll-out
A phased roll-out spreads risk, but it also means running two SAP releases side by side, with interfaces that have to work with both. When finance, procurement, production, quality and logistics in every country share one landscape, a single coordinated cut-over can be the simpler path. It only works if the preparation is thorough, which is where most of the 26 weeks went.
1. Treat the integrations as the real project
The technical upgrade itself is a well-trodden route. The risk sits in everything connected to SAP. In this program that included:
- Laboratory systems (LIMS): an API-based exchange of lab results and statuses, linked to the right materials, batches and QM inspection records.
- EDI and 3PL partners: SFTP-based interfaces with transaction mapping for orders, shipments, invoicing and inventory adjustments.
- SAP Integration Suite: message routing, data mapping and API management in one place, instead of point-to-point connections.
Our advice: list every interface in the first weeks, name an owner for each one, and test each with realistic message volumes before user acceptance testing starts.
2. Build controls into every interface
An interface that fails silently is worse than one that fails loudly. We standardized acknowledgments, error handling and reconciliation across the EDI and 3PL connections, so the business could see when a message did not arrive and fix discrepancies quickly. Decide early who gets alerted, and what they are expected to do about it.
3. Do not leave Basis and performance to the end
A move to RISE with SAP Private Cloud changes how the system is run. We optimized SAP Basis operations as part of the program rather than after it, so performance was stable from the first day on the new release.
4. Plan for the new SAP Fiori experience
A release upgrade changes what users see. User acceptance testing, deployment documentation and knowledge transfer were part of the plan from the start, so key users in each country were ready to support their colleagues at go-live.
5. Count hypercare inside the timeline
The 26 weeks included hypercare. Planning for it up front, with a clear support model across time zones, meant issues after go-live were handled as part of the program rather than as surprises.
The outcome
- 26-week delivery, including hypercare, within the planned timeline
- One go-live across India, the US and the UK
- 15% less manual effort through automated order notifications, billing reconciliations and laboratory inspection updates
- Better traceability across quality and batch-related processes
- Clearer supply chain visibility across orders, deliveries, warehouse operations, inventory and invoicing
- A scalable cloud foundation for multi-country operations and future growth
Planning your own upgrade?
Read the full story in the case study: Global Pharmaceutical SAP Transformation (PDF). To see how we approach upgrades and conversions, visit our SAP brownfield implementation and SAP Business Technology Platform pages, or see how we support systems after go-live through AMS managed care. If you are weighing a similar move, talk to our team.
Add a Comment