Serrala: Harmonizing data to support robust lead-to-cash processes after a speedy journey to the public cloud
A new level of data consistency and quality
Serrala was born from the belief that no mountain is too high to climb. Having transitioned nimbly to cloud ERP after a swift RISE with SAP journey, the financial automation and services provider company is ready to scale new heights with reliable data, modular cloud solutions, and an integrated software landscape.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Professional services | Norderstedt, Germany | >700 employees | Globant S.A. |
countries migrated simultaneously.
months to complete the migration project.
Director of Business Applications, Serrala Group GmbH
Building an agile, growth-oriented IT environment in the public cloud
Depicting three mountain peaks, software provider Serrala Group GmbH’s distinctive logo encapsulates the firm’s mission: raise the influence and impact of the office of the CFO by creating next-level finance process automation that enables better decision-making through clear insights. By deploying Serrala’s “digital office of the CFO,” finance teams can reduce costs, minimize risk, and gain real-time insights into their world of payments.
Each client may buy a different combination of software and services, and Serrala needs accessible, accurate information on the contract terms and charges surrounding these individualized packages. This includes having a clear overview of data from third-party sales and billing software.
However, the company’s decade-old on-premises instance of SAP ERP Central Component could not offer the visibility needed to support this sales- and customer-driven model. Integration between IT systems was lacking; processes were complicated and often manual; and data errors were common.
Nino Buchholz, the company’s director of business applications, explains how this affected billing. “Processes were really disconnected, and contract terms were not consistently available in any one system. Missing data led to inconsistent knowledge, which led to errors and the need for manual corrections. For example, if customers terms changed, the account manager and billing team had to align this update manually, and we ran the risk that a customer could receive an incorrect invoice. Overall, we needed a consistent flow of information.”
Meanwhile, on the HR side, Serrala already used SAP SuccessFactors solutions for managing employee data, recruiting, and training. But, again, integration with other software was lacking, hindering a centralized view of data. For a professional services firm, accurate employee data is vital, whether to help resource projects effectively or reimburse expenses speedily. As Buchholz explains, with the legacy ERP landscape, “Data could be changed at too many manual touch points, so master and transactional data had to be corrected in a very late stage of the process.”
Serrala knew it was time to embrace modular cloud solutions that support holistic, bundled line-of-business offerings, starting with comprehensive lead-to-cash processes. The company set out to transition its ERP to the public cloud.
Director of Business Applications, Serrala Group GmbH
Connecting SAP and third-party software across 10 countries
Serrala decided transforming through the RISE to SAP journey was the best way to move quickly and efficiently to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. This journey would also prepare the groundwork for harnessing the comprehensive portfolio of enterprise cloud applications in SAP Business Suite.
As well as providing a good functional fit and cost benefits, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition was the logical next step for Serrala as an SAP partner with a close relationship to SAP.
To support its lead-to-cash processes, Serrala set out to integrate SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition with the SAP Subscription Billing solution, solution order management functionality in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, and the company’s third-party sales software. SAP Subscription Billing helps it efficiently manage subscriptions and provide recurring billing data for software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. Serrala also deployed SAP Concur solutions for more-transparent expense management and integrated the existing SAP SuccessFactors solutions with the new ERP environment to better connect employee data.
The transition spanned 10 countries, and the team decided to migrate all 10 simultaneously in what Buchholz describes as a “compressed implementation.” He adds that RISE with SAP was integral to the smooth ERP migration, explaining: “You just click a few buttons, and you have starter systems that work right from the beginning. In the discovery and explore phases, this makes it a lot easier because you can touch the system and see how it works and give users access too. And when you start with implementation, you’re working on the actual system from the start and can see how it’s growing and developing. RISE with SAP was definitely a big accelerator.”
Serrala worked closely with implementation partner Globant S.A. on the project. The combination of RISE with SAP, Globant’s expert assistance, SAP Activate methodology, and the positivity of a small but dedicated internal team helped Serrala go live on budget in just nine months.
Unlocking one source of truth for consistent processes
Following a successful transition to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, Serrala benefits from comprehensive data consistency across different processes. Buchholz says, “You’re running standard, compliant processes based on industry best practices from day one. In the best case, you touch data only once. For example, you create a customer in the third-party sales solution, and that data object or information is sent to SAP software. That’s definitely the biggest advantage.”
Data quality has improved because the system prompts users to enter items correctly and without omissions. According to Buchholz, “Before, we couldn’t rely on the information in our systems, which meant people kept their own records in different places. Now, trust in the data has increased. Having one source of truth sounds simple, but it really is the key to everything.”
Serrala was able to create its first invoice in the new system on the very first day after go-live. Today, billing and invoicing are much more efficient than before. Buchholz says, “Whereas the old ERP system was used solely for accounting processes, we now have a much larger scope because the whole order is executed in SAP software.” When data is consistent from order to contract to invoice, there are fewer queries, and invoices are processed more quickly. In addition, teams now have confidence in the accuracy of invoices sent to customers. Renewals and terminations are faster, with plans to automate these in a second phase. And with embedded analytics, teams can quickly view items such as purchase orders on user-friendly dashboards, helping them organize their work better.
Once a customer confirms an order or subscription, the data moves from the third-party sales solution to SAP software for processing, as Buchholz says, “more or less at the push of a button.” Although there is still manual work involved in these early days after implementation, Serrala is reducing this effort constantly. Buchholz says touchless transactions will increase once all users have been familiarized with the new approach, an ongoing process that involves robust change management.
The combination of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP SuccessFactors solutions has had a positive impact on hire-to-retire processes as well. Robust integration of employee master data contributes significantly to data consistency and quality. Buchholz elaborates, “Missing data has consequences for users, which wasn’t the case in the past. For example, if you don’t maintain your bank data in SAP SuccessFactors solutions and then try to claim expenses in SAP Concur solutions, that claim will fail because there’s no corresponding account in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.” When a new consultant starts with the company, their profile is automatically created in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, and they can be set up as a user in a few clicks, eliminating manual work. And with access to accurate employee information, Serrala knows how many hours each consultant is available for, letting it plan projects more smoothly.
What’s more, with solutions maintained and updated by SAP, Serrala can manage its SaaS environment efficiently with a team of just two experts.
Climbing to new heights with cloud ERP
After its speedy adoption of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, Serrala can now focus on reaping the benefits of modular cloud ERP while integrating its own customer offerings with the solution. With its new cloud solutions working well technically, change management is ongoing to enable internal users to deploy them properly.
Serrala now has reliable data to help it make the right decisions for both the business and its clients. One plan involves further exploring the different analytics capabilities of built-in dashboards to help consultants increase their productivity. The firm is also examining how it can use the SAP Analytics Cloud solution to improve areas such as liquidity and budget planning. In addition, Serrala is implementing AI capabilities, including the Joule copilot, to improve user adoption and increase process efficiency. And it intends to investigate how SAP Subscription Billing could support new pricing models in the future.
On the HR front, Serrala wants to look at replicating availability data from SAP SuccessFactors solutions to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition to enable a more detailed view of consultants’ availability for project management teams.
With employees who pride themselves on a passion for future-oriented software solutions, Serrala has found the perfect match in RISE with SAP. With tightly connected ERP and cloud solutions, this pioneer of financial automation is ready to reach new peaks of success.
Featured partner
A company where innovation, design, and engineering meet scale, Globant helps organizations reinvent themselves through business AI and SAP Business Technology Platform. Globant is present in 33 countries with more than 29,000 employees. In this project, Globant’s experience in delivering profound transformations for organizations helped Serrala move smoothly to the public cloud.