Consolidation of Company Codes and Plants to Optimize SAP

At a Glance

The Challenge

The company recognized that for its size, its SAP system was complex. For example, CMW was using a table called RFDT which has complex cluster fields that contain 84 internal tables when unpacked. The table stored extra functionality used with financial variants and is not often used in other SAP systems.

Company codes existed for each Charles Machine Works business: Charles Machine Works, Anvil Land & Properties, Subsite LLC, and Earth Tool Company LLC. The company was advised that it could realize greater organizational flexibility, streamline processes, facilitate reporting and analysis, and reduce technical debt by consolidating to a single company code. Profit centers also had to be converted and renamed.

Because this effort was not in their budget, the project had to be delivered cost-effectively. In addition, due to high demand for their products, the project had to be short and minimally disruptive to operations and employees’ daily work.

The Benefits

The Solution

The approach developed and implemented by SNP included:

• A six-month end-to-end project schedule including post-go-live support.
• Three test cycles:
  • Technical
  • Functional
  • Dry run
• The project team was located in Germany, Slovakia and the U.S.
• A fiscal year change was performed so all parts of the business used the same fiscal year period start.

Key Facts

Project Type

SAP Merge

Highlights

Despite the technical complexity of the project, SNP went live three weeks ahead of schedule with zero issues. CMW’s RFDT table stored extra functionality used with financial variants. All of the internal tables within RFDT needed to be unpacked programmatically, changed (plants changed according to specified rules), and then placed back into the cluster fields.

Scope

• Consolidate four company codes into one
• Reassign plants and other master data
• Convert to a single chart of accounts, material ledger, and controlling area
• Migrate all closed and open business transactions across a wide range of accounting documents, orders, projects, and assets under construction
• Change to a new fiscal year

SNP Products

CrystalBridge® – The Data Transformation Platform

About Charles Machine Works

Headquartered in Perry, Oklahoma, Charles Machine Works (CMW) designs, manufactures and sells a range of products to cover the full life cycle of underground pipe and cable, including horizontal directional drills, walk and ride trenchers, utility loaders, vacuum excavators, asset locators, pipe rehabilitation solutions and after-market tools. The company is known as “The Underground Authority” for their deep understanding of the structures and systems in those markets, and the most important needs of underground construction professionals. The company was acquired by The Toro Company in 2019.