In 2023, Ahlstrom launched a major strategic business transformation project aimed at renewing and harmonizing the operations of its 36 plants worldwide. The solution chosen was SAP S/4HANA Cloud, which enables Ahlstrom to streamline its processes, improve flexibility, and move toward a data-driven and AI-enabled future.
Ahlstrom is a large international manufacturer of specialty materials, with 36 plants around the world and about 7,000 employees. The company’s strategy is to be a global leader in its field.
The business transformation project, called Stella, is the largest single investment in company history. Its purpose is to transfer operations, except HR and product development, to the new SAP S/4HANA Cloud environment. The old group business system dated back to the 1990s and no longer met the needs of global manufacturing. Ahlstrom also uses SAP Ariba for its procurement, which had already been implemented.
“SAP S/4HANA Cloud was clearly the best solution for us, especially for production management and planning,” shared Ahlstrom CIO Kristiina Lammila, who is responsible for the project. “With it, we can harmonize our operations and bring all our plants under the same system.”
Unifying systems and data
One of the main challenges of the project was integrating different systems and unifying fragmented data. With modernization, processes can be streamlined, daily work made easier, and time freed up for more strategically important tasks.
“We have managed to make significant progress with SAP S/4HANA Cloud standard solution,” Lammila said. “We use private cloud, which also allows for fairly flexible modifications. One plant is already live, and next year seven more plants will join. The goal is to complete the entire transformation within five years.”
According to Lammila, the system enables flexible transfer of production from one plant to another and global optimization of the supply chain.
Benefits for both employees and customers
Modern cloud ERP systems benefit all stakeholders. Streamlined production processes reduce waste and improve quality. Harmonized purchasing brings savings and the most visible change for Ahlstrom’s customers is smoother supply chains and better availability of products. The use of AI and analytics is expanding. Especially in sales support, AI solutions built on SAP Sales Cloud data are already in use at Ahlstrom.
“We can integrate even more closely with our customers, as many of them also use SAP,” Lammila explained. “This facilitates and streamlines the flow of information between companies.”
From the employee’s perspective, SAP S/4HANA Cloud makes teamwork easier. For example, order and inventory balances can be checked conveniently based on real-time data. Lammila also pointed out that the updated system supports employer branding, as job seekers expect to have appropriate and up-to-date tools at their disposal.
Strong change leadership is key to success
Lammila advises companies planning similar projects to approach transformations as comprehensive initiatives that must engage all employees, including management, not just the IT department.
“Strong management commitment and a shared vision of where we are going and how to get there are needed. The project must be led as a deep transformation, and the end result must not be compromised due to haste. Poorly executed work is difficult to fix later,” she concluded.
Ellen Vig Nelausen is an integrated communications expert for SAP Regional Communications.