Case study

Accelerating the SAP S/4HANA journey for Astellas Pharma

Building a single ERP in the cloud

Who we worked with

Astellas Pharma, a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company focused on delivering value for its patients

What the company needed

To create consistent processes across the globe to support continued business growth
To standardize and optimize control environments
To allow access to a global data source to improve decision-making
To improve the employee experience so they can focus on value-added activities

How we helped

Assisted in creating standardized record-to-report, procure-to-pay, master data management, order-to-cash, and supply chain processes across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Consolidated 900+ standard operating procedures down to ~100 to reflect new processes
Assisted in identifying necessary localizations to the global SAP S/4HANA templates to meet regional and business-specific needs
Assisted in the design of user permissions and training content
Executed 2,500+ user acceptance testing (UAT) scripts
Supported the cleansing and ongoing management of data for timely data migration

What the company got

Streamlined and consistent processes for 28 EMEA countries
84% reduction in SAP transaction codes
74% reduction in role-related conflicts
90% reduction in operating procedure documents
Over 4,000+ employee hours saved thanks to Genpact executing most UAT scripts
A business-as-usual environment within six weeks of go-live

Challenge

Acting globally but thinking locally with SAP S/4HANA

A relentless focus on its patients and innovative mergers propelled Astellas Pharma to become a world-leading life sciences company. But with rapid growth often comes complex, nonstandard processes and frustrated employees. It was time to globally standardize and harmonize processes using the latest technology platforms.

To tackle this challenge, the company committed to a five-year global standardization program, supported by the move to market-leading technology platforms. This included ERP consolidation from regionalized SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) instances to a single global instance of SAP S/4HANA. Given the additional time pressures due to SAP support for SAP ECC nearing expiration, this program was deemed a strategic enabler and critical to be delivered on time.

The company used experts across all regions to develop global templates for each process area. However, it was always understood that deployment across 28 EMEA countries, each with local fiscal requirements, would be complex. The global template would need to be adjusted in some instances.

Astellas needed a guide that could act as a business integrator to bring the ERP to life for each country.

Solution

Blending business, technology, and operational expertise

Genpact is Astellas' finance and procurement transformation partner for EMEA operations. Our experience delivering managed services to hundreds of organizations gave us a clear view of the challenge Astellas was facing.

Astellas selected Genpact as its partner to design and, where necessary, localize the global template processes.

Genpact worked with stakeholders across EMEA to understand their business processes and regional requirements. We also spoke with the company's design authority board, which is responsible for major design decisions.

Over just 20 weeks, close collaboration with affiliates and the integration partner allowed us to:

Influence over 100 design decisions to guide the ERP configuration
Highlight process risks, including 47 role-related conflicts and 1,100+ undefined transactions
Assist in the design, standardization, and simplification of user permissions to reflect SAP S/4HANA best practices
Influence data governance and assist in cleansing and ongoing management of relevant business data
Execute 2,500+ UAT scripts and update 300+ standard operating procedures
Contribute to the creation of end-user training content and change management materials
Advise in the localization of the global template for all 28 EMEA countries
Create 120 business process design maps for future project phases

Impact

Faster deployment, clearer roles, standardized processes

The partnership with Genpact gave Astellas the blend of business, technology, and operational expertise needed to manage change effectively during the transformation.

With our support, Astellas was able to:

Deliver a compliant and user-friendly platform on time
Reduce role-related conflicts by 74%
Reduce the number of SAP transaction codes by 84%
Standardize 70% of the month-end financial close calendar
Reduce the number of standard operating procedures by 90%
Give over 4,000 hours of UAT testing back to employees to focus on value-added activities
Stabilize the business within six weeks of go-live

But our work doesn't end here. Astellas continues to grow, and Genpact will be by its side every step of the way.