Mölnlycke: Transforming global operations with a modern ERP backbone for medtech excellence
en
Industry
Life sciences
Region
Gothenburg, Sweden
Employees
8,500+ employees
A global “big bang” to a clean-core ERP
Mölnlycke Health Care AB, a world-leading medtech company, achieved simplified processes, faster performance, and a future-ready foundation across multiple SAP solutions through a global big bang transformation, enabling sustained growth and scalable innovation. This was enabled by a clean core strategy and SAP Cloud ERP Private capabilities through the RISE with SAP journey, with unified integrations on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).
27%
reduction of lines of custom code compared to legacy ERP.
Up to 85%
improvement of the performance of processes company-wide.
50%
reduction of active integrations, from ~1,100 to ~550.
“We went live globally in one move and immediately ran at full volume. Response times were quicker from day one, and by day three, our business had already disbanded its project rooms—proof that our approach and partnership worked.”
Niklas Jakobson, Business Program Leader ERP Transformation, Mölnlycke Health Care AB
Reducing risk in a global shift from legacy ERP while simplifying for growth
Mölnlycke’s mission was to create a modern, standardized ERP backbone to enable real-time insights, streamline operations, and support scalable, data-driven growth. This new system needed to support half a million daily transactions, uphold rigorous traceability and quality requirements, and scale across a global manufacturing footprint—all without disrupting the business.
A simple technical swap wasn’t enough. The team’s plan involved reducing custom code, retiring outdated data, and delivering the change with minimal operational risk. It also needed to streamline integrations from different platforms, including the SAP Process Integration offering and legacy integration services, and improve how business and IT teams made decisions together.
The plan for a global “big bang” cutover raised the stakes. This approach required careful sequencing, tight governance, and a phased approach to reduce go-live risk without delaying business outcomes.
Modernizing enterprise systems while reducing technical complexity
Mölnlycke selected SAP Cloud ERP Private through RISE with SAP, combining modern cloud-managed ERP with its industry control requirements.
After an extensive planning exercise, the company used a brownfield conversion approach, protecting what worked while moving toward fit-to-standard processes. A critical early step was migrating integrations from SAP Process Integration and older cloud services to SAP Integration Suite on the Cloud Foundry runtime for SAP BTP. This consolidation onto one modern integration platform improved efficiency, reducing active integrations by half and standardizing connections for suppliers, partners, plants, and logistics providers ahead of the main cutover.
Throughout the program, Mölnlycke used the SAP Cloud ALM solution for delivery orchestration and operations and SAP Signavio solutions for process visualization.
The team formalized solution governance to help maintain a clean core and make sure design choices strengthened both compliance and agility.
Operationally, Mölnlycke embedded SAP Cloud ERP Private for production planning and detailed scheduling directly into its new digital core, streamlined customs processes within SAP software, and maintained connectivity with its SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Concur solutions.
The program emphasized building internal skills, empowering business and IT teams to work together on process improvements long after the go-live.
Realizing a benchmark go-live and a foundation for continuous innovation
After one-year in planning and a 15-month realization, Mölnlycke completed a global “big bang” go-live with minimal downtime. The business immediately ran at full volume with faster response times from day one. By day three, the company had resolved more issues than were reported and quickly reduced support efforts.
The transformation delivered significant business outcomes. Consolidating integrations on SAP BTP dramatically reduced complexity by halving active integrations through harmonization with SAP Integration Suite. The clean-core approach and standardized processes significantly enhanced operational efficiency, with some areas achieving substantial performance improvements. Customs operations also became more streamlined with a considerable reduction in code complexity compared to the legacy ERP system.
Strategically, a clean core, standard process design capabilities in SAP Signavio solutions, and robust solution governance have positioned Mölnlycke for agile, low-risk future changes. Embedded analytics in SAP Cloud ERP Private can now provide real-time visibility from planning to production and delivery, enhancing decision-making. With SAP managing private cloud operations under RISE with SAP, the IT team can shift its focus from maintaining infrastructure to driving strategic business value.
Looking ahead, Mölnlycke plans to maximize technology utilization, accelerate digitalization, and consolidate overlapping software while extending capabilities in SAP Cloud ERP Private and deepening its use of SAP Signavio solutions.
“RISE with SAP gives us a modern, secure core and the freedom to improve without heavy custom code. We’re faster, more compliant by design, and ready to scale.”
Mikael Björk, Global Director IT, Mölnlycke Health Care AB