Customer
EWE
Industry
Utilities
Key technologies
Go-live
March 2025
Country
Germany
EWE, one of Germany’s largest utility companies, partnered with Westernacher to modernize its analytics landscape, starting with the migration of its purchasing reporting from SAP Business Warehouse to SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud. The new, scalable solution enhances data transformation, improves reporting accuracy, and reduces manual effort – while integrating seamlessly with both SAP and non-SAP sources such as MS Faveo and SharePoint. This successful implementation boosts EWE’s operational efficiency and lays the foundation for future innovation across the business.
EWE, a German utility company operating in the sectors of energy, telecommunications, and information technology, aimed to establish a future-ready analytics landscape. As one of the largest utility companies in Germany with over 10,000 employees and sales of EUR 10 billion in 2023, EWE decided to start their modernization process by transferring their reporting on purchasing processes from the classic SAP Business Warehouse (BW) to SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC). This move marks the first step in a broader transformation initiative planned for other business units in future projects. The combined capabilities of SAP Datasphere and SAC fully meet EWE’s requirements by facilitating the sourcing and harmonization of data from disparate sources as well as enabling complex derivations and business logic through the business data fabric framework – while offering enhanced self-service reporting capabilities.
To gain a deep understanding of EWE’s existing systems and overall analytics requirements, multiple detailed functional and technical discovery workshops were conducted. As a result, Westernacher developed a solution design that not only addresses the challenges of EWE’s legacy solution, such as accelerated automated data transformation and enrichment processes for faster data analysis, but also delivers additional benefits, including intuitive tools to streamline the closing of purchasing periods while reducing manual errors.
The Westernacher team quickly grasped EWE’s unique processes around data harmonization and derivation. The solution had to be easily deployable and flexible to support varied modernization roadmaps for EWE’s ECC systems, while also integrating with non-SAP sources such as MS Faveo and MS SharePoint.
New system architecture:
Cross-team collaboration paves the way for analytics success.
A key factor in the project’s success was the team structure and collaboration, which overcame any perceived language barriers. EWE’s collaborative approach and quick decision-making ensured that all key stakeholders were committed to the modernization process and open to new ways of working. The success of this project is the first step towards expanding reporting capabilities with SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud.
The solution was designed to be scalable, adaptable to evolving business needs, and capable of supporting long-term sustainability in the purchasing process. This transformation not only improved the efficiency and accuracy of the data at EWE but also laid a solid foundation for future growth and innovation. Westernacher worked as one team with EWE, sharing all the technical knowledge around SAP Datasphere and providing comprehensive documentation throughout the project.
Westernacher successfully delivered the complex project on time and in budget, all in just seven months.
EWE continues to reap the benefits of the new solution, including:
- Enhanced flexibility and performance in data upload and enrichment workflows
- Accelerated data flows and faster data availability
- Improved data accuracy and consistency through robust data checks
- A future-ready solution that is scalable, adaptable, and extensible
- Simplified monitoring and maintenance of data flows and results
12+
Resource savings in purchase controlling process.
>30
Person days of effort saved per year in data enrichment process.
For EWE, building complex, interconnected systems is in their DNA.
With the help of Westernacher, they were able to build an interconnected and scalable analytics system – one that will not only serve them well for years to come but also act as a springboard for future growth and innovation.
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