The client was reshaping their entire global operation. They wanted two regions instead of many. One for developed markets, one for developing markets. On the face of it, the goal appeared simple. Group similar markets together to speed up decisions and make implementation easier.
But at the same time, they were building a unified ERP system. They had legacy systems and SAP scattered across their operations. It was a mess that needed cleaning up.
Their in-house SAP team designed an elegant solution. All internal cross-border transactions would flow through central hubs – one for each region. When Country A needed to send products to Country B, the hub would handle the purchase, raise the invoice, and generate all the required documentation automatically. The physical products would move as before, but the paperwork would be seamless.
The system would interface with every sending and receiving site. It would operate in the background with minimal human intervention.
The plan was ambitious. The timeline was aggressive. And that’s where the problems started.
The internal team had started the build and implementation. But they soon realised they faced an impossible choice. They could either focus on the technical build or handle the commercial rollouts to individual countries. They couldn’t do both within their ambitious timeframes.
Something had to give. The client needed external help, fast.
The client turned to Pivot to lead the rollout across the developed markets region, based in the Netherlands. They’d worked with Pivot before and knew they could trust Pivot to jump into a project mid-stream.
Pivot’s first task was fixing problems in Australia and New Zealand. The initial implementation had hit snags that needed resolving. The team reconfigured the system, ran user testing, and managed the go-live.
Next came Poland and the Baltic countries. The client had completed a gap workshop, so Pivot could start building immediately. The Pivot consultant worked with the business team on gap ratification workshops for Russia and Ukraine.
The pace was relentless. Building and testing ran simultaneously across country groupings. This meant early starts and late finishes as the team worked across time zones.
Midway through the project, the client called a strategic pause. They wanted to review progress and identify potential enhancements. The Pivot consultant joined the review team, helping to identify, develop, and test improvements.
Pivot delivered the complex cross-border transaction system across countries and platforms. They managed simultaneous builds, handled live system support, and ensured zero production issues during implementations.
The client’s SAP Business Partner was impressed by how fast Pivot understood the solution and how independently they could operate. Pivot exceeded expectations while maintaining system stability across all markets.
For a global reorganisation with aggressive timelines, reliable delivery was what the client needed. The project succeeded because Pivot could handle the complexity when internal resources reached their breaking point.
