Success story

How Sika mastered the transition to SolMan 7.2 with blue.works

Customer
Industry Chemical industry
Location Switzerland
Employees approx. 27’000
Service SAP Solution Manager
Customer since 2021

Sika, a global leader in building materials, found itselfin a technological dilemma: Solution Manager 7.1 (SolMan), which was no longer supported, was in urgent need of
modernization. To ensure a smooth
migration, Sika decided to work with the SAP ALM experts from blue.works.

“For us, working with an outdated system
was a limitation. It didn’t allow us to go
into the future”

Marisa Garro, SAP Basis ‚Administrator

The path to a solution: blue.works takes action

To ensure a smooth migration, Sika decided to work with the SAP ALM experts from blue.works. Initially, the project was divided into various work packages, including process management, test management and other functional areas. blue.works held fit/gap workshops to clarify in detail which functions should be retained and where adjustments were required. At the same time, a complex side project for OS/DB migration was carried out. To make the transition even more efficient, an additional SolMan system was set up to serve as a test environment.

Project approach

The project was divided into several phases to ensure maximum efficiency and transparency:

  1. Prepare: In this step, the foundation was laid, starting with a kick-off meeting. The SolMan-Lab system was set up and updated to version 7.2.
  2. Explore and Design: In this phase, the requirements and expectations were defined in workshops. Design decisions were made and carefully documented.
  3. Realize: The focus was on implementing the decisions described in the design paper in the system and enabling employees for productive operation.
  4. Deploy: The final phase comprised user acceptance testing (UAT) and the introduction of the new SolMan 7.2 functions in live operation.

The design paper: detailed guide for the transition

he design paper: detailed guide for the transition

The design paper was a key tool for steering the transformation journey. It had several important functions:

1. it described the design of SolMan 7.2 in general and gave an overview of the planned changes.

2. it set out step-by-step instructions for moving to 7.2 to ensure that the transition went smoothly.

3. it contained a timetable and an estimate of the effort required for implementation.

4. it combined both functional and technical information. This included functional descriptions for areas such as process and test management as well as detailed technical requirements for other areas.

5. it marked the end of the design phase and ensured that everyone involved was clearly informed about the next steps.

“The collaboration with blue.works was outstanding right from the start. They were always very helpful and proactive. blue.works was able to offer us a solution forthe particularly tricky tasks”

Thomas Hochstrasser, Team Lead SAP Enterprise Application Architecture

On to new heights!

Although official support for SolMan 7.2 is limited until the end of 2027. SolMan is still indispensable for many organizations. For companies like Sika, it continues to be a central backbone for IT processes and project implementation. Although the technology horizon will undoubtedly change with the introduction of SAP Cloud ALM, a cloud product, Sika is well prepared for the immediate future thanks to the support of blue.works.

Takeaway

Sika’s success story illustrates how the great and committed collaboration between Sika and blue.works helped to successfully manage the smooth transition to SolMan 7.2. The structuring of the project into clear work packages and the use of a detailed design paper proved to be decisive success factors. Sika is now ideally positioned to successfully plan the introduction of SAP Cloud ALM in the coming months and years.