Water-link: laying the foundations for a future-proof SAP S/4HANA migration

Water-link, a trusted utility provider in Flanders, recognised that moving away from SAP ECC was more than just a technical migration, it was an opportunity to rethink their digital future. With the clock ticking towards SAP ECC’s end of life in 2027 and a recent shift in strategic direction, water-link partnered with AE to ensure their transition to SAP S/4HANA was grounded in clarity, structure, and long-term value.

This case illustrates how a strategic, architecture-first approach helped water-link define their needs, gain internal alignment, and prepare a robust RFP to guide their transformation journey. 

Water-link has been capturing, producing and supplying water to various clients for over 140 years. In addition to the production, distribution and supply of drinking water, water-link is also responsible for wastewater management and the production, transport and supply of industrial water.

The company is a semi-public organisation controlled by the city of Antwerp. With its production infrastructure, water-link supplies approximately 40% of all drinking water in Flanders. It’s also the only water company in Flanders with over 98% of their clients connected to a digital meter. The company employs 495 people, including 200 office workers.

Strategic context and challenges

Water-link began using SAP ECC around 8 years ago. However, with SAP ECC reaching its end of life in late 2027 and the temporary suspension of merger plans with another water company at the end of 2023, water-link only initiated the RFI process in early 2024.

Given the timing, the shortage of internal SAP expertise and the complexity of an SAP migration, water-link required support in drafting an RFP to identify the best partner for migrating from SAP ECC to S4/Hana, along with post-migration support. This time, the focus is on aligning the solution with their own ways of working.

Our approach: Shaping a vision, not just a plan

We supported the client and the internal IT organisation in defining the right scope. We analysed the actual landscape of the company, gathered the necessary requirements, designed optimal processes, assessed migration risks and translated these insights into a comprehensive RFP.

Internal IT business partners have gained the skills to capture and structure business, functional and non-functional requirements. Additionally, all critical processes were documented in BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation)

The RFP is now ready for publication and includes all the necessary information, enabling suppliers to submit realistic offers that align with the client’s needs and anticipate potential challenges.

Tangible results and long-term value

Instead of diving straight into the proposed detailed information, we took a step back to focus on the bigger picture - specifically the Business & IT architecture, value streams, and high-level processes. Only after establishing this foundational understanding did we dive deeper into the details.

"AE fully embraced our project as their own, guiding us and documenting the entire process. The task was enormous and challenging, considering the diverse backgrounds, sensitivities, histories, and time differences. 

In addition to the architecture and analysis, we introduced structure to project management and the overall way of working: 

• Defined the needs and expected outcomes.
• Provided regular updates on the project’s progress to the core team.
• Requested official confirmation when specific predefined targets were met.
• Communicated frequently about progress, issues, …
• Explained the action plan and collaboration needs to the internal IT department to bring people into the story, with weekly feedback loops.
• Worked alongside key stakeholders to ensure alignment.

As such, we managed to provide a clear view of the organisation and its specific challenges. Within just three months, we translated the client’s needs into a future-proof RFP that captures the right requirements from all relevant perspectives and equips them with the tools to make well-informed decisions.

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