In a first step, the previously existing SAP BW was initially analysed and evaluated in joint workshops between Schäfer Shop IT and PIKON. The previous use of the system was also considered in detail and future requirements – such as the selection of a new front-end tool – were compiled. These were used in the selection process for the future BI solution.

Furthermore, there were additional requirements for a new system:

• Ease of maintenance owing to consistent development guidelines
• Increased user acceptance owing to improved performance
• Establishment of a standardised reporting process in the company, and
• Optimal exploitation of the possibilities of Hadoop for establishment of a data lake

Following intensive discussing with the PIKON BI experts, a decision was quickly made in favour of BW/4HANA as a new and central DWH system. Now the question of whether brownfield or greenfield is the right approach for Schäfer Shop needed an answer! A key factor in making the decision was the fact that legacy issues from the existing DWH would not be carried over to a new system.

Ultimately, Schäfer Shop opted for a greenfield approach – implementation on a “greenfield”. Migration – within the framework of a greenfield approach – of the existing reporting applications and the corresponding database should initially be done 1:1. Furthermore, optimisation of the data model and the data flow based on the possibilities of a BW/4HANA system was also planned. The original reporting concept was also to be completely reworked. Owing to the discontinuation of the existing BEx front-end tool classically used by the departments, it was necessary to carry the existing and known reports over 1:1 (with optimisations) into the newly created SAP BusinessObjects environment.