Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - ERPROOTS has finished a big SAP migration project for one of Saudi Arabia's leading FMCG companies, migrating their entire operation from SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud to Google Cloud Platform. It's a game-changer for the retailer, which has been pushing hard on their digital transformation goals. The company worked with a tech migration partner to pull this off, and now they've got a faster, more flexible setup that can grow with their business. It's a part of a bigger wave we're seeing across Saudi retail. Everyone's going cloud-first because they need to move faster and stay competitive.
Powering the Next Phase of Digital Growth
The client runs retail businesses across Saudi Arabia. Their SAP S/4HANA 1809 was placed on SAP HEC and was stable for a while. But it was getting expensive. They couldn't scale it easily when they needed to, and performance was starting to lag as they kept growing.
Business was booming, they were adding digital channels left and right, and suddenly their infrastructure felt like it was holding them back. They needed something that could handle growth without breaking a sweat, deal with traffic spikes when things got busy, and give them room to play around with analytics and automation later. Google Cloud Platform made sense. Good performance, better costs, tight security. So, they brought in ERPROOTS to manage the whole migration and make sure their day-to-day operations didn't skip a beat.
Migration Scope and Execution Strategy
The project included the core SAP S/4HANA system, SAP Fiori applications, and several integrations supporting retail, supply chain, and warehouse operations. In an FMCG environment, systems run 24/7 with no tolerance for disruption. To make the migration easier and less risky, ERPROOTS used a lift-and-shift method.
The migration happened in stages, beginning with non-production environments. This gave them more time to check system performance, test integrations, and fix problems before shifting production workloads. ERPROOTS handled the SAP migration work, from planning through to execution and validation, while the implementation partner took care of the cloud infrastructure and coordinated with the client's IT team.
Testing was integrated into every step. The team ran functional tests, checked integrations, and reviewed system readiness at each phase. This careful approach helped the cutover run smoothly, with very little downtime and no data loss.
"By successfully executing a zero-downtime SAP HEC to GCP migration, we helped our client unlock higher performance, massive scalability, and significant cost savings, proving the power of cloud done right," said the ERPROOTS Team.
Addressing Complex Operational Challenges
Migrating SAP for an FMCG business is tricky. Stores and warehouses don't close. There's no maintenance window where you can just pause everything. The biggest challenge? Moving enormous amounts of data securely while running operations normally.
Security was a top priority, especially with all the transaction and customer data involved. Secured transfer protocols strongly adhered to industry best practices. Working closely with the client’s IT teams, ERPROOTS coordinated several integrations and planned the cutover around day-to-day business operations. Staying aligned across teams made a real difference in ensuring the migration process went smoothly.
Scale, Precision, and Real-World Results
There were tons of interfaces to validate. We're talking about 1.8 TB of SAP HANA data. Resources from ERPROOTS, including the partner and the client’s internal teams, worked closely together. Despite how big the project was, they hit 100 percent compliance and didn't lose a single byte of data.
But the real win isn't just completing the migration. It's what the client can do now. Their new GCP setup can handle whatever growth comes next, more transactions, seasonal rushes, and new digital initiatives, without their old infrastructure's limitations.
Tangible Business Outcomes
The improvements are already showing up. Getting off SAP HEC is expected to reduce infrastructure costs by around 30%. Performance jumped noticeably. Batch jobs are running up to 40% faster, and Fiori apps are about 25% snappier.
The system can now handle 300% more traffic during peak sales without any downtime. For an FMCG business, that's critical. Disaster recovery has also improved significantly. The company can now recover systems in 15 minutes, with only 10 minutes of potential data loss. These improvements make a real difference for business continuity.
But the best part is they've a modern foundation now where they can actually experiment with advanced analytics, AI insights, and automation.
Strategic Relevance in a Changing Market
This migration reflects broader changes happening across Saudi Arabia's retail sector. Vision 2030 has been driving digital transformation throughout the Kingdom, pushing retailers to modernize their technology infrastructure. Companies are investing heavily on cloud platforms to improve their responsiveness, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
Recent SAP transformation projects announced by regional and global enterprises show a consistent trend. Organizations are moving away from traditional hosting arrangements toward cloud-native platforms that support faster, data-driven decision-making. For FMCG businesses operating on tight margins in a market where customer demand shifts rapidly, cloud flexibility has become essential for staying competitive. It's no longer just about having better technology. It's about having the infrastructure to adapt quickly when market conditions change.
About ERPROOTS
ERPROOTS is as an independent SAP consulting company. They specialize in SAP S/4HANA transformations, SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA conversions, and cloud migrations. The company works across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, helping organizations modernize SAP systems without interrupting daily business. They follow a structured process, focus on results, and make sure clients get real value from every project. This helps organizations build a strong digital foundation that supports future growth.
Media Contact
Company Name: ERPROOTS
Contact Person: Vaithinathan Elumalai
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Country: India
Website: https://erproots.com
