The Vaillant Group has technically updated its middleware to the current state of the art and has migrated from SAP Process Integration 7.3.1 to SAP Process Orchestration 7.5. IBsolution was responsible for the management of this major international project. With the success of the project, the Vaillant Group now not only has a uniform integration platform, but also fulfils an important prerequisite for the company-wide SAP S/4HANA migration.
As one of the worldwide market and technology leaders in the fields of heating, ventilation and cooling technology, the Vaillant Group operates production and development sites in six European countries and in China. Digitization offers the family-owned company the opportunity to open up new growth areas and ensure future business success. This requires an IT system architecture that is capable of combining a large number of applications from different suppliers.
Creation of a uniform integration platform
The Vaillant Group had been using SAP Process Integration (SAP PI) 7.3.1 as its integration platform for many years. Gradually, however, the middleware was getting a little outdated and no longer met the highest standards of the Vaillant Group. An update was no longer possible with reasonable effort. To bring the system back up to date in terms of technology and security, the Vaillant Group decided to migrate to SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO) 7.5.
The creation of an up-to-date central integration platform was also relevant for another reason: The supplier of heating, ventilation and cooling technology is planning to introduce the latest ERP generation SAP S/4HANA at all its sites worldwide. In order to create optimal conditions for this upcoming major project, the renewal and standardization of the SAP middleware was absolutely essential. Migration to SAP PO 7.5 was therefore a necessary condition for further modernization of the IT landscape.
IBsolution takes over the project management
The Vaillant Group commissioned the Heilbronn-based SAP consulting company IBsolution to manage the complex migration project. “We chose IBsolution as our partner because we have already worked together excellently in the past,” says Steffen Ascher, Group IT Director at the Vaillant Group. “With the successful migration to SAP PO 7.5 we were able to add another chapter to our successful partnership”.
An analysis of the current status showed that the number of interfaces used globally at the Vaillant Group, which were originally implemented with SAP PI/PO 7.3.1 and now had to be migrated, amounted to more than 700. The project involved eight business units in all the countries in which the Vaillant Group operates sites, including Germany, China, Spain, Turkey and the UK.
“A decisive task of the project management was not only to involve the internal responsible persons of the individual interfaces, but also to coordinate numerous external service providers and the central infrastructure provider,” says Holger Feigenbutz, Project Manager at IBsolution. In addition to the pure migration, Vaillant and IBsolution also standardized the associated processes and documentation according to guidelines and made them more efficient.
Project success in time, quality and budget
Within one year, the more than 700 interfaces were migrated. IBsolution competently handled the complex international large-scale project and fulfilled all tasks included in the scope on time, in the desired high quality and within budget. “The project management by IBsolution was exemplary,” says Siegfried Unger, Head of Software Development Consulting and Integration at the Vaillant Group. “Together we have created the prerequisites for the Vaillant Group to be able to continue to realise innovations and added value on the basis of a reliable integration platform in the future”.
Photo: Vaillant GmbH
About the Vaillant Group
The Vaillant Group is an international company headquartered in Remscheid, Germany, and is active in the fields of heating, ventilation and cooling technology. As one of the world's market and technology leaders, Vaillant Group develops and produces tailor-made products, systems and services for living comfort. The product portfolio ranges from efficient heating appliances based on conventional energy sources to system solutions for using renewable energies. In financial year 2019 the company, which has been family-owned since its foundation in 1874, achieved sales of €2.6 billion with about 14,000 employees.
About IBsolution
IBsolution is a consulting company specialized in SAP with headquarters in Heilbronn and further locations in Germany, France, Bulgaria and Switzerland. The company sees itself as an expert for all SAP topics in the areas of business analytics, master data management, identity management, security, digitalization and cloud computing. And this already since 2003 – independently and owner-managed. More than 200 dedicated employees create solutions at IBsolution that inspire both the business departments and IT. Customers receive business benefits packed in fixed price packages, nearshore offers and innovative products that ideally complement the SAP portfolio.
