Ameropa: Sowing the seeds for resilience and innovation with a cloud-based foundation
Integrated ERP for flexibility and speed
Ameropa needed an IT architecture that would help it trade core commodities efficiently while expanding the business. By deploying an SAP Cloud ERP solution, the fertilizer, grain, and oilseed distributor improved financial processes, gained agility, and laid a digital backbone that fosters smart, sustainable growth.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Agribusiness | Binningen, Switzerland | ~2,000 employees | IBM |
Global Chief Information Officer, Ameropa Holding AG
Modernizing and automating financial processes
Ameropa Holding AG is a Swiss-based agribusiness company with a global footprint in the commodity trading industry, specializing in the marketing and distribution of fertilizers and grains. Founded in 1948 and with operations across more than 30 countries, Ameropa connects agricultural producers with end users through its integrated supply chain and strong logistics capabilities. The company combines an entrepreneurial spirit with a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation.
As a trusted partner in the dynamic world of global agricultural trade, Ameropa needs modern, agile finance operations. However, up to 60% of its financial processes required manual intervention, and uploading month-end closing results to third-party analytics software was cumbersome. The inventory accounting and adjustments needed to close the accounting period required lengthy calculations outside of ERP systems, and month-end accruals and provisions for trade-procurement cash discounts consumed time too. Process flows for nontrade procurement business activities were also largely manual, and a lack of ERP reporting functionality led to the use of spreadsheets.
On the banking side, up to 100% of settlements were done by hand. Cash flow management and liquidity reporting were spreadsheet based, and bank statements were a patchwork of formats with multiple manual entries in the ERP system. Overall, treasury lacked a global view.
Paula Freire, the company’s global chief information officer, says: “Ameropa was at a turning point—and we seized it. We were running on a monolithic, on-premises architecture that simply couldn’t keep pace with our evolving business needs. So, we made a bold move in shifting to a modular, cloud-based setup that puts flexibility and speed at the heart of our operations.”
By selecting the right cloud-based solution, Ameropa knew it could reinforce its core commodity-trading capabilities while gaining the scalability, agility, and system integration it needed.
Global Chief Information Officer, Ameropa Holding AG
Getting a head start on transformation with one global ERP instance
Ameropa explored multiple ERP solutions from top-tier vendors to find one that matched its operational needs and long-term vision. SAP Cloud ERP stood out as the clear front-runner. It offered a deep fit with the commodities and agribusiness sectors as well as tailored functionalities that aligned perfectly with the company’s trading, logistics, and compliance workflows. Cloud-native architecture enabled the scalability and smooth integration Ameropa needed to connect its global operations and adapt quickly as the business evolves.
Ameropa also rolled out the SAP Master Data Governance application to create a trusted view of data with a unified global master data layer that helps increase data accuracy and simplifies data management. And it used SAP Business Technology Platform to help maintain a clean core.
According to Freire, what really sealed the deal for SAP Cloud ERP was the power of real-time insights. “Advanced analytics gave us sharper visibility into supply chain and financial performance, enabling faster, smarter decisions across the board. And with innovation baked into the ecosystem—AI through the Joule copilot, automation, and a rich partner network—we’re not just keeping up with industry trends. We’re helping shape them.”
A successful rollout across nine legal entities on multiple continents in less than 12 months speaks to the company’s speed, precision, and commitment to transformation. It also reflects the support offered by implementation partner IBM. Freire elaborates: “Rolling out nine legal entities in under 12 months is not just fast. It’s a testament to IBM’s relentless commitment and precision, which helped turn complexity into clarity and ambition into achievement.”
Global Chief Information Officer, Ameropa Holding AG
Running efficient and intelligent processes on a clean core
A phased approach in which the business launch occurred a month after the technical go-live enabled continuity, smooth implementation, and faster realization of value from Ameropa’s financial transformation.
This value includes drastically streamlined financial closing processes from record to report, slashing time, cost, and manual effort. Compliance and statutory reporting are faster and more accurate. And comprehensive integration with the company’s financial consolidation solution has eliminated cumbersome manual processes, boosting both efficiency and control.
SAP Cloud ERP has also improved performance across governance, risk, and compliance processes, where auditing efforts are down and internal controls are stronger, reducing exposure to fraud and noncompliance.
On the order-to-cash side, Ameropa’s billing and invoicing workflows are leaner and smarter, supporting new business models and smoother customer experiences.
The transformation has also enabled a clean core, which Freire describes as “not just a principle but a nonnegotiable.” She explains: “As a lean, high-impact IT team, we’re focused on keeping our architecture streamlined across applications, infrastructure, and security, with no clutter or chaos. SAP Cloud ERP is the backbone of that vision, giving us the agility, control, and simplicity we need to scale smart, stay secure, and move fast. It’s not just tech, it’s our enabler for doing more with less and doing it brilliantly.”
Global Chief Information Officer, Ameropa Holding AG
Continuing the momentum with global rollouts
Having started its financial transformation in the EMEA region, followed closely by North America, Ameropa now has a clear path forward for SAP Cloud ERP.
Freire says, “Our road map is locked and loaded. Seven new legal entities across South America, Asia, and Romania are set to join our digital ecosystem. But we’re just getting started. Next, our headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, takes the spotlight as we power through the final phase of our global deployment—bringing every entity under one smart, streamlined, cloud-driven core.”
Ameropa is now exploring the potential of integrating SAP Cloud ERP with the SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud solutions, key capabilities of the SAP Business Data Cloud solution. With the new data and analytics setup, the company can leverage a business data fabric architecture and deliver integrated data to business consumers across the organization, enhancing decision-making. Using the new data fabric, Ameropa can also improve the quality of the data it feeds into AI solutions, including the Joule capability.
According to Freire, these rollouts are set to unleash a new level of performance across the globe. “It’s not just about scale; it’s about smarts. We’re doubling down on innovation, unlocking next-generation functionality in automation, AI, and data analytics. The future isn’t coming. We’re building it.”
Featured partner
IBM drives high-impact outcomes using advanced AI and a science-based approach to tackle clients’ most critical challenges. It helps enterprises use SAP software to accelerate AI adoption at scale for greater productivity and ROI. In this project, IBM’s robust program framework and governance reinforced Ameropa’s focus on a clean core and structured execution.