Çetaş Otomotiv: Driving a culture of continuous improvement by increasing resilience on the road to advanced ERP in the cloud
Explore Çetaş Otomotiv’s journey with SAP
Independent automotive dealership group Çetaş Otomotiv A.Ş. met with technical challenges pioneering the first implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition in Turkey. But drawing deep on its digital leadership vision, it successfully consolidated its 18 companies and unified separate ERP systems on advanced cloud ERP to support stronger growth, agility, and profitability.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partners |
| Automotive | Istanbul, Turkey | 1,500 employees | KPMG and NTT DATA Corporation |
increase in turnover in four years.
branches unified on a single cloud ERP foundation.
reduction in time spent on HR administrative tasks.
Digital Transformation Director, Çetaş Otomotiv A.Ş.
Reshaping operations in the cloud to sustain growth
Çetaş Otomotiv A.Ş. is one of the largest independent automotive dealership groups in Turkey. The company has more than 40 years of experience across sales, service, spare parts, and secondhand operations for Ford, Renault, Dacia, Opel, Citroën, Peugeot, Isuzu, Ford Trucks, Toyota, Lexus, Chery, and Jaecoo brands.
Çetaş Otomotiv is committed to continuously improving quality in automotive sales and aftersales services and meeting customer expectations. However, having structured the organization’s operations at a branch level, with separate companies and ERP systems for each of its 18 branches, limited data visibility hindered organizational agility and growth. And collecting fragmented data from isolated systems for consolidated financial reporting was a time-consuming and resource-heavy process, slowing access to data insights.
Looking to support strong growth and create a more efficient business model, Çetaş Otomotiv made the decision to transform its operations. The goal was to consolidate its 18 companies under one roof and unify the separate ERP systems by moving to an advanced ERP in the cloud.
Breaking new ground in the cloud in Turkey
Looking to simplify complex business processes, increase agility and scalability, and reduce costs, Çetaş Otomotiv evaluated potential solutions guided by the strategic vision of its board and the expertise of consulting partner KPMG. The company was impressed by the advanced functionality, proven best practices, and continuous innovation offered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition to meet is significant needs. It also decided to upgrade customer experience management capabilities by optimizing sales experiences with the SAP Sales Cloud solution and enhance core HR and talent management processes with SAP SuccessFactors HCM.
When embarking on this ambitious project to transition 18 different companies’ ERP systems to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, the company joined forces with specialist integration partner NTT DATA Corporation to pioneer a first-of-its-kind project in Turkey. But as a trailblazer in this area, the organization encountered a number of challenges along the way. There were integration difficulties with legacy applications, and the limited scope for customizations to meet specific operational needs impacted its dealer management systems. The timing of the go-live also coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating adaptation challenges and necessitating a new approach to collaboration. Furthermore, lack of a single area of responsibility for the new system at Çetaş Otomotiv presented coordination and communication problems, including incomplete user requests, which caused additional integration issues.
To resolve these challenges, Çetaş Otomotiv adopted a three-pronged approach. First, it established a digital transformation directorate, quickly sorting out specific technology challenges and laying the groundwork for addressing other technology issues. Second, Çetaş Otomotiv created a specialized internal team under the leadership of its vice chairman, focused on mastering business processes following best practices from SAP, leading to an 80% resolution rate of inherited problems within a short span. The third prong focused on establishing a help desk to provide effective solution and communication management.
Bulent Cankaya, digital transformation director at Çetaş Otomotiv, comments, “The help desk has since become a cornerstone for effective issue resolution, handling an impressive volume of tickets with a near-perfect resolution rate.”
Digital Transformation Director, Çetaş Otomotiv A.Ş.
Steering a faster and more agile business model
Since resolving the unforeseen challenges encountered as a pioneering user of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition in Turkey, Çetaş Otomotiv has achieved many benefits from its wholesale transformation.
By combining and transitioning the data from various ERP systems used in the different companies to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, the organization standardized and optimized business processes. This allowed it to consolidate multiple reports from the branches into a single view.
In terms of inventory management, consolidation of vehicle stock and parts from various sources under a single inventory management system helped the organization better manage and control costs, sales, and profitability.
Cankaya says that advanced ERP in the cloud is also underpinning a faster and more agile business model for Çetaş Otomotiv: “Once we’d resolved our integration challenges by unifying purchasing, expenses, banking, and e-ledger processes, as well as reporting and customer relationship management, the organization significantly accelerated operational workflows and improved organizational responsiveness.”
Since the implementation, Çetaş Otomotiv has grown dramatically, with the single cloud-based ERP now covering 30 branches. Through this expansion, combined with enhanced operational efficiency and automation, Çetaş Otomotiv has seen turnover more than double in the past four years. On an operational level, the intuitive interface offered by SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition has simplified work tasks and reporting, enabling employees to perform their tasks quickly and with agility.
By using the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution in conjunction with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, Çetaş Otomotiv has significantly improved employee data management and reporting capabilities. One key quantitative benefit is a 30% reduction in time spent on HR administrative tasks, which improved employee satisfaction. Qualitatively, the company enhanced data transparency and consistency, strengthening decision-making.
Automating processes has minimized human errors, reducing financial and security risks. The smooth integration between SAP SuccessFactors HCM and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition allows for automated payroll processing and expense management, decreasing financial discrepancies.
Digital Transformation Director, Çetaş Otomotiv A.Ş.
Driving innovation through continuous technology adoption
In summing up the way ahead for Çetaş Otomotiv, Cankaya reflects on the organization’s transformation journey. “As we continue to evolve in the dynamic landscape of automotive retail, the lessons from this journey will serve as guiding principles, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of leveraging technology for business excellence and innovation.”
Featured partners
KPMG is an SAP gold partner with more than 6,000 consultants across its global network of member firms specializing in SAP solutions. The consulting firm guided Çetaş Otomotiv on the decision to move to next-generation ERP in the cloud to consolidate the disparate ERP systems of 18 separate entities.
NTT DATA Corporation is one of SAP’s largest global strategic service partners, offering specialization in complex transformation programs. The company helped Çetaş Otomotiv break new ground in pioneering the first implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition in Turkey.