Results at a glance
The situation
The client is a pharmaceutical manufacturer operating in a regulated GxP environment in Europe. The organisation had successfully deployed SAP S/4HANA across the business — supply chain, warehousing, dispensing, and production were all running on the platform.
But deployment is not the same as adoption. Despite the investment, nearly every core business process relied on embedded spreadsheets and offline workarounds to function. SAP was live, but it was not being used to its full potential — and in many areas, it was barely being used at all.
Omletec was engaged to assess the digital capabilities of the supply chain organisation, identify the root causes of low adoption, and define a structured programme of work to systematically improve how the business used S/4HANA.
The system was live. The data was not trusted. The spreadsheets had never gone away. This is one of the most common — and most overlooked — failure modes in ERP programmes.
What made this hard
Spreadsheets everywhere
Almost every business process had a spreadsheet embedded in it — for planning, tracking, reporting, or reconciliation. SAP was being bypassed by default.
Data entered days late
Business-critical information was entered into SAP retrospectively — often days after the event — making the system unreliable for planning or decision-making.
No trust in SAP data
Users had low confidence in SAP data accuracy, which reinforced manual behaviours. The less people used SAP properly, the worse the data became.
No plan visibility
Production and logistics teams lacked visibility into an accurate, up-to-date production plan. Departments could not use SAP to plan workload or capacity.
IT-owned master data
Ownership of SAP data sat with IT rather than the business. There was no accountability for data quality, timeliness, or completeness at a functional level.
Post-go-live neglect
Minimal focus on user training and adoption following go-live. The organisation treated go-live as the finish line — not the starting point.
How Omletec delivered
Built an evidence-based digital baseline
Omletec conducted a full digital baseline review of the supply chain organisation, focused not on what SAP could do in theory, but on how it was actually being used in practice. This included end-to-end process mapping, identification of every digital asset in use — SAP, spreadsheets, and local tools — process walkthroughs on the shop floor, stakeholder interviews, and structured questionnaires to capture pain points and improvement opportunities.
The result was a clear, evidence-based understanding of where SAP was under-utilised, why workarounds existed, and which issues had the greatest impact on performance.
Designed a phased, adoption-led programme
Rather than attempting a big-bang change, Omletec defined a multi-year, phased transformation strategy. Each milestone was designed to deliver tangible value to the business while building the foundations for the next phase. This approach was deliberate: sustainable adoption requires trust, and trust is earned through visible, incremental progress.
Programme structure
Closed the functional gaps driving offline work
The first milestone focused on eliminating the root causes of spreadsheet dependency. Omletec identified and addressed missing or poorly adopted SAP functionality, removed planning and tracking spreadsheets that duplicated SAP data, and eliminated master data maintained outside the system. This was not about mandating SAP usage — it was about removing the reasons people had for working around it.
Introduced real-time data capture
Real-time scanning was implemented for material consumption, and real-time work centre confirmations replaced retrospective data entry. Material labelling was improved to support shop-floor execution. The goal was straightforward: if an event happens, it should be recorded when it happens — not three days later.
Deployed visual management and plan visibility
Site-wide dashboards were deployed reading live SAP data, providing clear visibility of the production plan, schedule adherence, and shop-floor performance. A visual planning tool replaced multiple spreadsheet-based planning processes and pushed planned dates and operation schedules back into SAP — improving both visibility and data integrity simultaneously.
Shifted ownership from IT to the business
A structured SAP user training programme was delivered across the supply chain. Ownership of SAP data — including master data and production recipes — was transferred from IT to business users. Accountability for data quality and timeliness was established at a functional level, creating the governance needed to sustain improvement beyond the programme itself.
Before
Spreadsheets embedded in every process
Material consumption recorded 3 days late
Work centre confirmations 5 days after event
No visibility of the production plan
Master data owned by IT
Low trust in SAP data accuracy
After
Spreadsheets eliminated across planning and reporting
Material consumption recorded in real time
Work centre confirmations within 3 hours
Live dashboards showing plan and performance
Master data owned and maintained by the business
SAP established as a trusted system of record
The outcome
PDA usage across the supply chain increased from approximately 30% to over 90%. Average time to record material consumption was reduced from three days to real time. Work centre confirmation time was reduced from five days to three hours. Productivity gains were delivered through back-flushing of miscellaneous materials, and spreadsheet-based planning and reporting was significantly reduced.
Omletec established automated manufacturing variance reporting, with monthly review meetings focused on the top 10 variances — creating a data-driven improvement culture that did not exist before. Ownership of master data and recipes was transitioned to business users, supporting continuous refinement and long-term sustainability.
With strong foundations in place, the programme has moved into its second milestone: implementing SAP PM to bring engineering and maintenance into the digital landscape, redesigning the cost centre structure for more granular COGS visibility, and preparing for advanced planning — now significantly de-risked by the earlier visual planning deployment.
Why Omletec
Omletec delivered value not by deploying new technology, but by ensuring existing technology was actually used. The difference between "SAP live" and "SAP value" is adoption, discipline, and ownership — and that is where Omletec focuses.
Adoption over deployment
Focused on how people actually work — not on system functionality. If the process doesn't change, the spreadsheet never goes away.
Evidence-based assessment
Full digital baseline built from process walkthroughs, interviews, and shop-floor observation — not assumptions or vendor documentation.
Phased, sustainable change
Multi-year programme designed around clear milestones, each delivering tangible value before the next phase began.
Manufacturing expertise
Deep knowledge of supply chain, production, and warehouse operations — combined with practical SAP experience in regulated environments.
Going live on SAP is not the finish line — it is the starting point. The organisations that get the most from their ERP investment are the ones that treat adoption as a programme, not an afterthought.