Ahlstrom: Creating a scalable cloud ERP blueprint in just four weeks with SAP Cloud ERP
Turning ERP speed into manufacturing agility
Ahlstrom needed a faster way to modernize ERP across complex manufacturing operations. With SAP Cloud ERP applications and SAP partner Vincit, Ahlstrom proved the effectiveness of a two-tier ERP strategy, taking its Kingston, New York, plant live in just four weeks. This created a clean-core public cloud blueprint for repeatable, fit-to-standard rollouts.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Mill products | Helsinki, Finland | 7,000 employees | Vincit Oyj |
weeks to deploy SAP Cloud ERP and prove a reusable model.
plants targeted for harmonized global operations.
years of SAP partnership supporting transformation.
Head of Shared IT Platforms, Ahlstrom Oyj
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Mill products | Helsinki, Finland | 7,000 employees | Vincit Oyj |
weeks to deploy SAP Cloud ERP and prove a reusable model.
plants targeted for harmonized global operations.
years of SAP partnership supporting transformation.
Head of Shared IT Platforms, Ahlstrom Oyj
Creating a faster path from legacy ERP to cloud manufacturing
Materials from Ahlstrom Oyj show up in everyday moments that most people never stop to notice: tea bags, coffee-cup seals, face masks, medical equipment, filtration products, masking tapes, wall coverings, and aircraft applications. Since 1851, the company has produced hundreds of thousands of fiber-based specialty materials for more than 6,000 customers worldwide.
But behind this global reach, Ahlstrom’s legacy ERP landscape—which comprised SAP software and third-party on-premises and cloud solutions—no longer met the needs of global manufacturing. Older systems, fragmented tools, spreadsheet-based work-arounds, and plant-specific processes made it more difficult to scale, forecast, procure, plan production, and make fast decisions with confidence.
Through “Project Stella,” Ahlstrom set out to harmonize operations across 36 plants while finding a faster, less disruptive path for smaller production sites. The goal was clear: Ahlstrom wanted to give factory teams simpler tools, provide leaders with clearer data, and create a repeatable model that could help it serve customers with more reliable operations.
Head of Shared IT Platforms, Ahlstrom Oyj
Building a two-tier ERP model for speed and scale
Ahlstrom turned to SAP based on the longstanding partnership that had been established between the two companies for more than 20 years. SAP offered an integrated portfolio for ERP, procurement, planning, sales, and analytics and could support both the scale and speed that Ahlstrom sought.
For its global headquarters, Ahlstrom is moving core operations to SAP Cloud ERP Private solutions. For smaller production units, it chose SAP Cloud ERP as part of a two-tier ERP architecture. In this way, it can use a fit-to-standard, clean-core public cloud system for faster, repeatable site deployments while remaining connected to the private cloud system at its headquarters.
Working with Vincit Oyj, an SAP gold partner, Ahlstrom selected a plant in Kingston, New York, for the pilot public cloud project. Clear scope, rigorous follow-up, strong business and IT ownership, and adherence to standard processes in SAP solutions helped the team go live with a fully functional ERP system in four weeks.
Vincit helped Ahlstrom complete the four-week rollout of SAP Cloud ERP by bringing SAP software implementation expertise, manufacturing process knowledge, change leadership, and a productized public cloud implementation approach. Its work with Ahlstrom supported the creation of a reusable clean-core deployment blueprint for future rollouts.
Head of Shared IT Platforms, Ahlstrom Oyj
Turning a four-week rollout into a repeatable ERP blueprint
Ahlstrom’s rollout proved that modern ERP deployments can move at the pace of business. Instead of treating a smaller plant rollout as a large, resource-heavy program, Ahlstrom and Vincit delivered a working environment on SAP Cloud ERP in less than a month and created a model that the company can reuse.
The public cloud layer gives smaller sites a standardized, upgrade-ready foundation, while connection to the broader private cloud solution supports centralized visibility and consistency. For employees, the new foundation replaces multiple client applications with a modern, cloud-based experience and consistent daily processes.
As a result, plant teams can spend less time navigating work-arounds and more time managing orders, inventory, procurement, production, and planning. For leaders, that means clearer data for decisions. For customers, the new environment supports Ahlstrom’s bigger goal of agile supply chains, improved availability, and more reliable production.
Head of Shared IT Platforms, Ahlstrom Oyj
Expanding cloud ERP as a foundation for AI-enabled work
Ahlstrom plans to continue its transformation by expanding the ERP rollout across its global manufacturing network while using the public cloud blueprint where speed, standardization, and cost-efficiency matter most.
With private and public cloud foundations in place, the company sees a path to greater adoption of Joule Agents and Joule Assistants in potential use cases. These include automating routine IT authorization work, supporting product development, and helping operations teams identify quality defects in fiber-based materials more precisely.
For Ahlstrom, the priority is to put the modern cloud ERP foundation in place first and then use trusted data and AI-enabled capabilities to help employees work more effectively and dispatch products to customers more reliably.
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Featured partner
Vincit Oyj combines leading enterprise platforms, AI solutions, and human-centric design to help its more than 300 customers turn digital into business results. The deep expertise of its 500 employees and partners spans data and AI, composable commerce, SAP solutions and core processes, and digital products and services.