Bridgestone
Driving Data Governance as Bridgestone Shifts Gears & Rolls into S/4HANA
100% master data loaded
90% improvement in migrated master data accuracy
99.9% load accuracy
About the Company
Bridgestone in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Bridgestone EMEA) is the regional Strategic Business Unit of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in premium tyres and sustainable mobility solutions. Bridgestone offers a diverse portfolio of premium tyres, tyre technologies, and advanced mobility solutions.
Project Background
Raising the Bar on Data Migrations
Bridgestone had embarked on a massive business transformation to remove silos and consolidate their ECC system into one SAP S/4HANA system across 26 European countries. Existing systems already in place suffered from siloed data across multiple business units, outdated data preparation processes with minimal automation, and inconsistent, disparate processes.
With only nine months remaining until their planned 2024 go-live, Bridgestone needed a more comprehensive solution to drive business transformation across their operations and boost efficiency and scalability. Bridgestone knew Syniti was the trusted data partner they needed to ensure their migration delivered the clean, accurate, governed data needed to power their new operating mode.
“Syniti supported us in re-aligning our approach to managing our data in this ambitious transformation effort...We needed to invest in the experts and make systemic changes to achieve our timeline and critical business goals.”
Challenges
On the Road to S/4HANA
During a typical data migration, no changes are allowed after the final practice data load or “dress rehearsal”. The nature of Bridgestone’s dynamic business, however, meant the migration process had to accommodate a near constant rate of change.
What’s more, the compacted project timeframe made it imperative to follow a strict schedule; exact execution at all levels was critical. What typically took multiple data loads had to be fit into fewer loads and an even shorter amount of time.
The team were up against multiple hurdles:
High Rate of Change: Constant modifications between dress rehearsal and cutover challenged conventional data migration and testing processes.
Tight Timeframe: A strict timeline made it imperative to reduce manual tasks and automate wherever possible.
Outdated Design: Legacy systems, some over two decades old, posed additional hurdles to the migration and data quality execution.
"Syniti has proven they can do hard things. Syniti’s credibility was already established, and we knew we could trust the Data First approach with the implementation."
Implementation Highlights
Data First, From Data Migration to Ongoing Governance
To accelerate their transformation to SAP S/4HANA and their consequent business transformation, Bridgestone enlisted Syniti’s trusted data migration and data quality services and solutions. Using the Syniti Knowledge Platform, Syniti was able to quickly re-align the setup and design of the transformation and define a repeatable data quality process tailored to the business.
Customized data cleansing reporting and dashboarding automated data issue identification, reducing manual workloads and ensuring only high-quality data was present in the new S/4HANA system from day one.
Results
Migration Delivers Measurable Results
Through collaboration with Syniti, Bridgestone navigated the complexities of a Big Bang migration of SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, transforming their operations and positioning themselves for continued growth, automation, and innovation within the automotive industry.
Working closely with Bridgestone resources and other Partners, the Syniti team were able to achieve results:
- 100% master data loaded
- 90% improvement in migrated master data accuracy
- 99.9% load accuracy for all other 2nd and 3rd tier Objects
The project helped upscale Bridgestone’s digital capabilities and empower business users through the upgrade of their ERP software to SAP S/4HANA.
Business Benefits
Trusted Data Drives Ongoing Innovation
Bridgestone’s business transformation streamlined operations and enabled continued growth, automation, and innovation within their industry. Syniti’s Data First approach delivered measurable impact, including a 90% improvement in migrated master data accuracy, providing a foundation of trusted data for the business.
- Ensured precise stock traceability for financial accuracy and auditability
- Improved visibility into data quality across the business
- Automated data issue identification and reduced manual workloads
- Improved auditability and financial reporting with stock traceability
Through hyper-care and stabilization post-go-live, Syniti ensured Bridgestone’s transformation was not just on-time, but sustainable. Bridgestone’s S/4HANA migration demonstrates that when data quality comes first, transformation is faster, compliance is easier, and future innovation is built on a foundation of trusted data.