CDMO: An SAP S/4HANA transformation in <10 months

When the CDMO approached Tenthpin, they were operating across multiple established manufacturing sites. Each site was running on a different ERP system, with one that was poorly implemented with S/4HANA. But growth was on the agenda. Why? Because the CDMO had acquired a new site from a global pharma company, thus initiating the requirement for a rapid integration under a 12-month Transition Services Agreement (TSA).

Their newly acquired site ran a highly customized version of SAP ECC. Therefore, the CDMO had to choose between adapting the existing systems or starting fresh – taking the opportunity to build a new, scalable SAP S/4HANA system.

Most importantly, the CDMO decided to build on Tenthpin’s CDMO Industry Template that guarantees robustness, compliance, and extendibility.
When the CDMO acquired a stake in another manufacturing site, this approach was more than validated and created the ideal scenario to execute the first rollout of the new SAP S/4HANA template.

Not all challenges are the same
SAP S/4HANA transformations in general are complex and intense programs. That isn’t new. The project faced three critical challenges:

1. Complexity of legacy systems: The heavily customized SAP ECC system on the site highlighted that need for a carefully designed carve-out and clean data migration strategy to ensure a smooth transition to the new S/4HANA template.
2. Alignment of processes: The site needed to adopt standardized processes coming from our Tenthpin CDMO template, especially across finance and procurement, without disrupting core operations.
3. Tight timeline: A deadline of less than 10 months from start to finish demanded strict time management to ensure the team could execute validation and testing milestones without compromising on system readiness or compliance.

Fit-to-Template works best
We selected a Fit-to-Template rollout strategy for this project. This rollout strategy is where an enterprise template is developed, with subsequent rollouts on different sites adopting it with minimal changes. In practice, this would enable us to avoid redesigning processes from scratch and ensure consistency with future possible rollouts – saving time and focusing our efforts on where it matters most.

We applied this rollout strategy by:
Targeting essential business processes like finance, procurement, inventory, manufacturing, and quality management – so that the site could operate effectively from day one without any disruption.
Deferring non-essential or complex requirements to post-go-live enhancement phases – maintaining project focus and avoiding scope creep.
Installing a streamlined and lean governance model that empowered decision-makers to act quickly – resolving issues in no time and keeping the project on track.
This rollout strategy led to local deviations of only 4% compared to the enterprise template.

Fighting speed and resistance
There are two elements that stick out in any integration (CMDO or not): speed and resistance to change.

The tight deadline of less than 10 months was always at the back of our mind. Strategic clarity wasn’t enough; we needed executional speed to reach the milestones set by the CDMO. That’s where Tenthpin’s industry accelerators played a vital role – developed based on our deep Life Sciences industry experience and SAP best practices.

Think of our implementation accelerators as pre-configured solutions, validated templates, process models, testing scripts, data migration tools, and established methodologies designed for the complex industry and processes of Life Sciences. Using relevant accelerators, our experts drastically reduced the time spent on baseline configuration, process design workshops, documentation and testing. This provided more time to focus on unique integration challenges and site-specific requirements – without compromising on business readiness or regulatory requirements.

And then there’s the human elements that every new site integration faces: resistance to change. Our proven Organizational Change Management (OCM) methodology was the key to solving this; ensuring user adoption, minimizing operational disruption, and achieving the project’s intended business benefits. Here’s what our structured OCM approach focused on:

• Providing clear and consistent communication to different stakeholder groups at all sites.
• Engaging with key users and site leadership from the acquired entity throughout the process.
• Delivering comprehensive training programs that addressed both system usage and new standardized processes.
• Established feedback mechanisms to address any concerns from stakeholders quickly.

Overall, OCM was instrumental in bridging potential cultural gaps between the acquiring group and the new site. Without sticking to our OCM approach, fostering a sense of shared purpose and transitioning to standardized global processes would have been more cumbersome and protracted. This way, we could respect local expertise but still ensure globalized procedures were in place.

Evolving CDMO quality with T/QME
An essential component for process automation was our own GxP-compliant software, Tenthpin Quality Management Evolved (T/QME). It’s the new standard for QM in SAP S/4HANA, offering a seamless integration into existing quality control and quality assurance processes.

For the CDMO client, T/QME was key to improving their quality management operations within SAP S/4HANA. Our solution enabled the CDMO to gain greater transparency on lab performance, accelerate sample identification, increase compliance, ensure traceability, and more. Now, our client has a tailored solution for lab processes from sample creation to batch data management.

Multiple gains across the board
So, what did blending a template rollout approach with specialized accelerators and robust OCM delivered for our CDMO client? Everything that they expected:

• Go-live was achieved within less than 10 months.
• A robust, standardized S/4HANA template has been proven and ready to support future site integrations with minimal disruption.
• Fit-to-Template approach provided a repeatable blueprint for similar projects.
• The collaboration with Tenthpin was central to success, bringing in proven tools, deep expertise, and the momentum to drive transformation at pace.

But more than that, the CDMO has experienced significant gains comparable to other S/4HANA transformations Tenthpin did:

>20% decrease in operational costs.
>5% increase in customer service (OTIF).
>30% increase in manufacturing and quality staff productivity.

This case study clearly shows how Tenthpin enables CDMOs to leverage bold decisions, best practices, and expert partnerships that transform complexity into capability. See what Tenthpin can do for CDMOs here.

This article from Patrick Wolf, Partner at Tenthpin, was originally published in the Special CDMOs & CROs as part of European Biotechnology Magazine Autumn 2025.