An appetite for growth: Edgard & Cooper switches to SAP S/4HANA

Over the past five years, Edgard & Cooper has recorded triple-digit growth numbers and significantly expanded its operations. “Needless to say, this has had a major impact on our business processes and IT systems,” says senior logistics manager Olivier Ceyssens. “We quickly understood that in order to keep our promise to our customers and realize our growth ambitions we needed to look for a scalable ERP system that could support us in the long term.”

SAP S/4HANA on a leash… for now

Olivier and his team started to scour the market for solutions that could handle the needs of a young and dynamic business, while also offering a solid base for structural growth. “From my experience at larger enterprises, I learned that having a good IT partner is indispensable in picking the right package,” he goes on to say. “That’s when we decided to get in touch with the people at delaware.”

Finding the right fit wasn’t a walk in the park, however. Julie Dardenne, sales manager at delaware, explains: “When we mapped all the business processes and requirements, we quickly understood that SAP S/4HANA was the way to go for Edgard & Cooper. But it’s not an obvious choice for SMEs: many consider it overkill. By choosing the public cloud version and following the best-practice approach, we managed to reduce the complexity for the business while also laying a foundation for rapid growth that will keep up with accelerating momentum for at least the next 10 years.”

Loyal partners and shared values

Technology is one thing, but the implementation process – and the people involved – are at least as important for success, if not more. “Coming from the same region, there was an obvious cultural fit between our companies,” Julie continues. “Edgard & Cooper’s entrepreneurial spirit reminded us a lot of delaware’s early days. Together, we created a roadmap with clear milestones and objectives. That includes setting up core processes in accounting, sales and procurement as well as in operations and logistics, and optimizing process flows and operational efficiency.”

“From the get-go, delaware’s project team displayed a hands-on approach, with ample consideration for our needs,” Olivier adds. “Their expertise and reliability play a big part in motivating our own people as well.”

For SAP, the project is a perfect showcase of SAP S/4HANA’s flexibility. “We’re happy to see a dynamic, up-and-coming brand take full advantage of this technology to realize its ambitions,” says Natasja Naessens, sales manager at SAP. “All in all, this is a great example of how the interaction between a forward-thinking business, an experienced integrator and cutting-edge ERP technology can lead to great things. We’re looking forward to seeing the story of Edgard & Cooper unfold even further in the coming years.”