CONA Services LLC Upgrades Platform from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA is SAP’s newest generation of ERP software. It uses technologies like in-memory computing, AI, machine learning, and advanced automation to improve efficiency and processing. SAP is discontinuing the current SAP ECC platform and has begun the process to sunset this technology, with SAP ECC becoming obsolete in 2027. Currently, SAP is actively investing and innovating in the S/4HANA platform, and no longer making enhancements in the previous generation of ERP applications.
Due to these reasons, on the weekend of April 19th, 2024, CONA Services LLC officially upgraded from SAP ECC to S/4HANA. This cutover included all 11 North American Coca-Cola Bottlers currently on the CONA Platform.
The successful transition to this new platform came with over two years of preparation from a combination of the CONA team, as well as participating Bottlers & Partners. Throughout the composition, the teams hard work was shown through the following accomplishments:
- CONA teams planned and executed 6000+ test cases across four ITCs, testing across all functional areas.
- CONA designed and provided Bottlers over 550 test cases to be executed as part of User Acceptance Testing, including End-to-End scenarios.
- Over three UAT Cycles, Bottlers planned and executed over 38000 test cases successfully. During these UAT Cycles, 3135 defects were identified and 3109 were closed.
- Bottlers executed 700+ high volume T-codes which were used by 200+ users in production in the last year.
Francesco Quinterno, Chief Product Officer from CONA Services stated, “There were some skeptics out there that questioned whether this could be done, but with everyone’s help, it was achieved. It did not go smoothly because of magic but because of the hard work, and years of preparation, of all our internal and external stakeholders. These were the key elements that led to this success.”
Success truly is the only word that can be used to describe the events of cutover weekend and the weeks following. Due to the amount of rehearsal that went on before the weekend, the teams were equipped to handle any hiccups that came their way. Every issue that was witnessed in the dry runs prepared the teams to soar through cutover with no impact. This also allowed the following, Hypercare, to remain quiet. Although there was some excitement directly after the cutover, as the teams got accustomed to the new solution, it did not take long for everything to settle. In fact, due to a low number of incidents, CONA and multiple Bottlers were able to scale down the Hypercare bridges earlier than planned.
With how well the overall project went from CONA’s perspective, the Bottlers were able to relish a similar experience. Darrell Thompson, Chief Information Officer & Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Bottler in the CONA system, describes his thoughts regarding the new platform:
“S/4HANA will unlock new capabilities through collaboration and innovation. Consolidated is excited about the potential of faster analytical insights and the additional time savings during close. This successful implementation was possible due to the immense preparation of the valued CONA team. Engagement amongst all Bottlers and Partners involved, clear communication across channels, dry run cycles, and a ‘One Team’ attitude were just a few reasons for this accomplishment.”
CONA could not agree more with Thompson. A technology platform upgrade of this size is a complex project that requires careful planning, testing, and involvement from business and IT stakeholders. Strong collaboration with SAP experts, implementation Partners and Bottler subject matter experts was critical. CONA Services appreciates the involvement and dedication of everyone who has worked on this project and thanks all Partners and Bottlers for their continued support.