For decades, BSH Hausger盲te GmbH has been a quiet force in kitchens worldwide, with brands like Bosch, Siemens, and Gaggenau in its portfolio. Now, the company is rewriting its own recipe鈥攏ot for food, but for finance. In partnership with SAP, BSH is transforming its IT landscape to a cloud-first foundation, aiming to free employees from manual tasks and put insights at the center of decision-making.
In an interview, BSH Head of Governance, Methods, and Systems Heiko Schletz explained how the company is reshaping finance and why its move to the cloud is a critical ingredient to a successful AI-enhanced future.
Technology follows vision
Represented in more than 50 countries, BSH manufactures home appliances in 39 factories worldwide. Schletz鈥檚 team oversees group controlling and is responsible for ensuring that financial data flows smoothly from its core systems, such as ERP, all the way up to the consolidated group level. His team manages how financial data is structured and integrated across all global entities, ensuring it can be used effectively for company-wide reporting and decision-making.
BSH is working to bring accounting and controlling together into one integrated process, supported by real-time data and analytics. One principle is guiding this transformation: technology follows vision, not the other way round. As part of its transformation journey, BSH is embracing change by testing new technologies to support its vision.
To simplify reporting efforts, for example, , SAP鈥檚 next-generation data management platform that can unify and govern all 51风流data and seamlessly connect with third-party data.
A recent use case automatically connected accounting balances, controlling P&L data and market metrics in 51风流Datasphere and delivering consolidated reports without spreadsheets and manual effort. 鈥淭his shows where the journey is going鈥攋oining sources, bringing them together,鈥� Schletz says.
Breaking down silos to empower AI
BSH鈥檚 long-term goal in the financial area is to get rid of silos between accounting, controlling, and treasury. Schletz envisions a parallel ledger architecture that supports both鈥攍egal entity and consolidated group views鈥攅nabling advanced analytics such as value-driver trees. By moving to 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, integrated with 51风流Datasphere and 51风流Analytics Cloud, BSH aims to create a single source of truth for finance spanning from subsidiary ledgers to group-level consolidation.
Schletz is convinced that with a cloud-based, synchronized toolset, his finance team can deliver the latest figures for decision-making faster and with less manual consolidation. 鈥淪AP鈥檚 AI evolution is running in the direction we also want to go,鈥� Schletz explains. 鈥淭he technology meets our vision and that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a perfect fit.鈥�
The company has relied on 51风流solutions for decades, starting with 51风流R/3 and now running 51风流S/4HANA, 51风流Business Warehouse, and 51风流Analytics Cloud. The next milestone is cloud migration: RISE with SAP. 鈥淚n the next two years, we go into the cloud,鈥� Schletz says. 鈥淲e want a synchronized toolset that gives us a holistic view.鈥�
To get the most out of analytics and AI functionalities, BSH is currently consolidating and simplifying its comprehensive business application landscape. The company鈥檚 target is to move from six separate ERP solutions to one global 51风流S/4HANA environment that covers all subsidiaries and geographies.
How to prepare an 51风流S/4HANA transformation
Schletz鈥檚 advice for other organizations exploring the RISE with SAP journey is to start with a clear vision. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 begin with a concept that combines accounting and controlling, don鈥檛 start with 51风流S/4HANA,鈥� he says, noting that a finance transformation is not an isolated IT project鈥攊t requires alignment across logistics, sales, and customer service. 鈥淭he 51风流S/4HANA conversion is a cross-functional adventure,鈥� he adds.
BSH鈥檚 journey is ongoing, but the direction is set. Cloud migration via RISE with SAP, integrated data, and a finance function designed for insight rather than manual effort. 鈥淲e want the machine to do what it does best, so people can focus on creating value,鈥� Schletz concludes.
