University Health Network – SAP Innovation Awards 2025
University Health Network required an upgraded business foundation to support strategic growth and innovation. The existing ERP platform lacked flexibility and real-time data access, and it didn’t integrate well with other systems, limiting support for new lines of business and automation. SAP S/4HANA Cloud was implemented across multiple organizations and countries, unifying data and enhancing real-time reporting tools. This strengthened key processes, freed up resources for improved patient care, and enabled real-time data-driven decisions to advance healthcare innovation. - 5435 Download the DocumentPUBLIC
Entry Pitch Deck
University Health Network
Darlene Dasent, Executive Vice President & CFO, UHN
Healthcare
Harnessing data and driving innovation for
patient care, education and research
Entry Pitch Deck
University Health Network
Darlene Dasent, Executive Vice President & CFO, UHN
Healthcare
Harnessing data and driving innovation for
patient care, education and research
COMPANY NAME:
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company information
2
University Health Network
Toronto, ON, Canada
Healthcare
http://www.uhn.ca/
44,000
UHN is Canada’s #1 hospital, the world’s #1 publicly-funded hospital
and #3 hospital in the world. UHN consists of 10 sites and more than
44,000 TeamUHN members. Our pioneering achievements include: the
first clinical use of insulin in the world, the first globally successful single
and double lung transplant, and Canada’s first social medicine housing
initiative, providing affordable housing for some of the most medically and
socially complex patients.
Partnered with the University of Toronto, we treat the most complex
patient and specialize in biomedical research in the neurosciences,
cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious
diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine.
UHN is a $3.5 Billion organization, consisting of Toronto General
Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre,
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and
West Park Healthcare Centre.
PUBLIC
HEADQUARTERS:
INDUSTRY:
WEBSITE:
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
Company information
2
University Health Network
Toronto, ON, Canada
Healthcare
http://www.uhn.ca/
44,000
UHN is Canada’s #1 hospital, the world’s #1 publicly-funded hospital
and #3 hospital in the world. UHN consists of 10 sites and more than
44,000 TeamUHN members. Our pioneering achievements include: the
first clinical use of insulin in the world, the first globally successful single
and double lung transplant, and Canada’s first social medicine housing
initiative, providing affordable housing for some of the most medically and
socially complex patients.
Partnered with the University of Toronto, we treat the most complex
patient and specialize in biomedical research in the neurosciences,
cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious
diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine.
UHN is a $3.5 Billion organization, consisting of Toronto General
Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre,
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and
West Park Healthcare Centre.
PUBLIC
CHALLENGE: SOLUTION: OUTCOME:
Harnessing data and driving innovation
3
To real-time reporting access to critical
data
In products scanned in real-time for
delivery across UHN annually
Saved annually in manual processes
through automation of invoice processing
3 weeks
University Health Network
$54M 6,000 hours
The World’s #3 Hospital, needed an enhanced
business foundation to help fuel continue growth
and industry leading innovation. UHN’s existing ERP
platform configuration lacked sufficient flexibility and
sophistication to accommodate strategic growth.
Challenges included:
• Lack of real-time access to data
• No direct integration with other clinical,
business, operational & research systems
• Limited ability to support new lines of
business with increasing complexity associated
with innovative world leading research and clinical
care
• Inability to automate processes across
procurement, supply chain & accounts payable
Segregated systems integrated, data unified,
and powerful real-time reporting tools enabled.
Key processes strengthened including procurement
and supply chain. Process optimizations are freeing
up human resources to improve upon and enhance
patient care, education, research and innovation.
Hundreds of people, across 6 countries, and
multiple organizations implemented one of the
biggest software transformations ever in
Canada’s healthcare sector, and one of only a
handful in the world, and with no disruption to
patient care.
Powerful Reporting Tools enhanced our ability to
provide exceptional patient care by strengthening
financial insights of units, allowing for more effective
resource allocation, and ensuring timely and high-quality
care. Predictive analytics and forecasting help us
anticipate operational needs, manage challenges
proactively, and optimize costs. These advancements
create a more responsive and efficient healthcare
environment, prioritizing patient well-being.
Clinician, scientists, educators and business partners
can now employ real-time data and analytics to drive
strategic decision-making, and get life-saving drugs,
tools and innovations to patients.
PUBLIC
Harnessing data and driving innovation
3
To real-time reporting access to critical
data
In products scanned in real-time for
delivery across UHN annually
Saved annually in manual processes
through automation of invoice processing
3 weeks
University Health Network
$54M 6,000 hours
The World’s #3 Hospital, needed an enhanced
business foundation to help fuel continue growth
and industry leading innovation. UHN’s existing ERP
platform configuration lacked sufficient flexibility and
sophistication to accommodate strategic growth.
Challenges included:
• Lack of real-time access to data
• No direct integration with other clinical,
business, operational & research systems
• Limited ability to support new lines of
business with increasing complexity associated
with innovative world leading research and clinical
care
• Inability to automate processes across
procurement, supply chain & accounts payable
Segregated systems integrated, data unified,
and powerful real-time reporting tools enabled.
Key processes strengthened including procurement
and supply chain. Process optimizations are freeing
up human resources to improve upon and enhance
patient care, education, research and innovation.
Hundreds of people, across 6 countries, and
multiple organizations implemented one of the
biggest software transformations ever in
Canada’s healthcare sector, and one of only a
handful in the world, and with no disruption to
patient care.
Powerful Reporting Tools enhanced our ability to
provide exceptional patient care by strengthening
financial insights of units, allowing for more effective
resource allocation, and ensuring timely and high-quality
care. Predictive analytics and forecasting help us
anticipate operational needs, manage challenges
proactively, and optimize costs. These advancements
create a more responsive and efficient healthcare
environment, prioritizing patient well-being.
Clinician, scientists, educators and business partners
can now employ real-time data and analytics to drive
strategic decision-making, and get life-saving drugs,
tools and innovations to patients.
PUBLIC
4
We now have a foundation that
prioritizes real-time analytics,
sophisticated data collection, and
modern tools that support our
experts, all of whom are helping
realize the goal of A Healthier World.
Darlene Dasent
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
PUBLIC
We now have a foundation that
prioritizes real-time analytics,
sophisticated data collection, and
modern tools that support our
experts, all of whom are helping
realize the goal of A Healthier World.
Darlene Dasent
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
PUBLIC
COMPANY NAME:
Participating partner information
We‘ve employed a pragmatic, agile methodology
with discipline around early validation of
outcomes allowing us to find wins in a way we
couldn’t with a traditional waterfall. This program
was a true testament of strong governance
and collaborative partnership across UHN,
Deloitte and SAP, which ensured this program to
stay on budget and timelines and allowed us to
go-live without issues. We take pride in being a
part of this journey for UHN to address better
patient outcomes in Canada.
Amit Kaul
Lead Engagement Partner, Deloitte Canada
5
Deloitte
UHN selected Deloitte as their Systems Integrator and Strategic Partner for their Business
Transformation program through a competitive procurement process. With a 165-year history
in Canadian business, Deloitte has established a significant presence in the life sciences
and healthcare sector, focusing on transforming clients' strategic visions into
innovative, practical healthcare solutions that support their business goals.
Since 1994, Deloitte has been a Global System Integrator partner with SAP AG, successfully
deploying over 1,000 SAP S/4HANA programs and more than 320 SAP Ariba
implementations globally. Leveraging our partnership with SAP, we integrated SAP
services within our project team and established a collaborative partnership model between
UHN, Deloitte, and SAP throughout all phases of the program. This true partnership was
central to the program's success for UHN.
PUBLIC
Participating partner information
We‘ve employed a pragmatic, agile methodology
with discipline around early validation of
outcomes allowing us to find wins in a way we
couldn’t with a traditional waterfall. This program
was a true testament of strong governance
and collaborative partnership across UHN,
Deloitte and SAP, which ensured this program to
stay on budget and timelines and allowed us to
go-live without issues. We take pride in being a
part of this journey for UHN to address better
patient outcomes in Canada.
Amit Kaul
Lead Engagement Partner, Deloitte Canada
5
Deloitte
UHN selected Deloitte as their Systems Integrator and Strategic Partner for their Business
Transformation program through a competitive procurement process. With a 165-year history
in Canadian business, Deloitte has established a significant presence in the life sciences
and healthcare sector, focusing on transforming clients' strategic visions into
innovative, practical healthcare solutions that support their business goals.
Since 1994, Deloitte has been a Global System Integrator partner with SAP AG, successfully
deploying over 1,000 SAP S/4HANA programs and more than 320 SAP Ariba
implementations globally. Leveraging our partnership with SAP, we integrated SAP
services within our project team and established a collaborative partnership model between
UHN, Deloitte, and SAP throughout all phases of the program. This true partnership was
central to the program's success for UHN.
PUBLIC
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Challenges
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
PUBLIC 6
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in the global
supply chain, and sourcing critical health care supplies continues
to remain a challenge.
UHN was in a race to secure necessities such as personal
protective equipment (PPE), COVID-19 testing kits and sanitizers
for patients and staff in UHN facilities and on behalf of the entire
public health care system.
In times of global crisis, and in caring for sick patients, educating
and training health care workers, and driving scientific discoveries,
we need real-time data and analysis, robust reporting tools
and reliable supply chain processes to drive strategic decision-
making.
• Ambitious timeline of 18 months
• Fragmented, complex systems with manual processes
• A team, just emerging from the pandemic and a major clinical
ERP installation
• Change management for thousands of team members and
hundreds of external vendors and partners
Billions of dollars, millions of products, thousands of research
projects and countless instances of patient care are key to
UHN’s success, and we needed more powerful business tools.
Challenges
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
PUBLIC 6
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in the global
supply chain, and sourcing critical health care supplies continues
to remain a challenge.
UHN was in a race to secure necessities such as personal
protective equipment (PPE), COVID-19 testing kits and sanitizers
for patients and staff in UHN facilities and on behalf of the entire
public health care system.
In times of global crisis, and in caring for sick patients, educating
and training health care workers, and driving scientific discoveries,
we need real-time data and analysis, robust reporting tools
and reliable supply chain processes to drive strategic decision-
making.
• Ambitious timeline of 18 months
• Fragmented, complex systems with manual processes
• A team, just emerging from the pandemic and a major clinical
ERP installation
• Change management for thousands of team members and
hundreds of external vendors and partners
Billions of dollars, millions of products, thousands of research
projects and countless instances of patient care are key to
UHN’s success, and we needed more powerful business tools.