Case studies / Retail and distribution
Case studyConsolidating regional SAP systems for a distributor
A distributor with separate regional systems and warehouses consolidated onto one SAP template, gaining a group view of stock and margin and routine intercompany reconciliation.
Overview
A consumer goods distributor serving supermarkets, pharmacies and convenience chains across Southeast Asia, built from a series of regional businesses that kept their own systems after joining the group.
Scale. Five regional businesses with many legal entities, local tax rules in every country, regional warehouses and a large volume of intercompany trade as stock moves between regions.
The challenge
Each region ran its own system, and each system told its own version of the truth. Product codes, customer codes and even the definition of margin differed from one region to the next.
Group margin and stock were unclear. Leadership could see revenue, eventually, but not reliably what each product line earned across the group or how much stock was sitting in which warehouse. Decisions about range, pricing and purchasing were made region by region.
Intercompany trade was reconciled manually. Stock moved between regions daily, and every movement created a sale in one system and a purchase in another. Mismatches in timing, price and quantity were resolved by finance teams each month in long reconciliation calls.
Previous attempts to standardise had foundered on local exceptions. Every region could point to a tax rule, a customer requirement or a long-standing practice that it said made it different, and without anyone with the authority to decide, the exceptions multiplied.
The group's principals, the brands it distributes, were asking for consistent sell-through and stock data across the region, and the distributor could not provide it.
The solution
All regions now run on one SAP finance and logistics template. Sales, purchasing, inventory and accounting follow the same processes, with local variants confined to tax, invoicing and statutory reporting.
Intercompany processes are automated. A stock transfer between regions creates matching documents in both entities at the same price and on the same date, so balances agree by design.
Master data governance controls products, customers and suppliers centrally. Requests for new records follow a workflow, local teams add the details only they know, and duplicates are stopped at the door.
Warehouse integration connects regional warehouse systems to SAP, so stock is visible across the group in near real time. Tax authority connections handle local e-invoicing and reporting.
Group reporting draws on the data platform for margin by product, customer and region, and stock by location. Customer portals and principal reporting use the same data.
Bank connections bring statements from every country into SAP daily, so treasury can see cash across the group. Each region keeps its local banking relationships, but payments and reconciliation follow the same process everywhere.
The engagement
- Eighteen months
- Twelve specialists
- Common process design, a design authority, SAP finance and logistics template, intercompany processes, master data governance, group reporting, warehouse and tax integration, wave rollout and legacy system retirement.
Integrations
- Regional warehouse systems
- Tax authorities
- Banks
- Customer portals
- Group data platform
How we delivered it
- 01
Define common processes
Four months
We defined common processes for finance, sales, purchasing and warehousing, and the local variants genuinely needed for tax and legal reasons. A design authority, chaired by the group finance director, ruled on every requested variation.
- 02
Build and migrate the first region
Five months
We built the SAP template and migrated the first region, chosen because it was representative rather than easy. Its go-live tested the template and the design authority in practice.
- 03
Wave rollout
Seven months
Further regions followed in waves. Each wave reused the template and the migration tooling, with local work limited to the approved variants.
- 04
Retire old systems
Two months
Old regional systems were retired only after each region had run stably through at least one quarter-end close on SAP, with historical data archived for audit.
Results
- One consolidated view of stock and margin
- Routine intercompany reconciliation
- Central master data governance
- Consistent sell-through and stock reporting for principals
Leadership now sees one consolidated view of stock and margin. Range and pricing decisions are made on group data, and slow-moving stock in one region can be moved to where it sells.
Intercompany reconciliation has become routine. The monthly calls have gone, and the finance teams spend their time on analysis rather than matching.
Master data is governed centrally. Products and customers carry the same codes everywhere, which has made group reporting and principal reporting straightforward.
The design authority proved its worth. Of the many local variations requested during the programme, only a small number were approved, and each was documented with its reason.
Retiring the old regional systems removed their licence and support costs and closed off a long list of security and audit concerns. Historical data remains available in an archive for audit and tax enquiries.
Every country thought it was special. The design authority let us agree, in writing, the few ways in which it really was.
What made the difference
A strong design authority prevented local variations from multiplying.
