China’s Huaxin Cement Embraces SAP

“A lot of consulting companies talk about partnering with their clients, but Capgemini really delivered. The collaborative approach taken by Capgemini and Huaxin resulted in a single unified team. This was a key foundation for the success of our project.” Ian Riley, Vice President, Huaxin Cement Company Limited

The Situation

Operating in China, the world’s largest cement market, Huaxin Cement manufactures cement and associated equipment, besides offering a range of other services.

From 2008, Holcim, a leading global producer of cement and aggregates, became the largest shareholder in Huaxin Cement. Contrasts between the two companies were evident the former was truly global with well defined systems and processes; the latter’s business was focused on ground realities in China. Holcim’s increased stake in Huaxin Cement triggered several changes in the organizational fabric of the latter.

As business scale grew, Huaxin Cement realized the need for a common management model that could be implemented consistently across all locations. Achieving this demanded a need to embrace more efficient and unified business processes, as well as a standardized management platform across all subsidiaries. In order to utilize Holcim’s experience in management systems for the cement business, the system needed to be compatible with Holcim’s ERP template and HARP (Holcim Accounting & Reporting Principles) standards. At the same time, Huaxin Cement needed to define and develop an efficient business model to fulfill detailed reporting needs inline with daily financial rules as well as China’s legal regulations.

The Solution

Huaxin Cement launched a project and called on Capgemini’s proven ERP expertise to help steer it to success. Using its DeliverSAP methodology, Capgemini executed gap analysis and process design based on Holcim’s SAP template “Connect”and designed new financial standards based on CAS (China Accounting Standard) and HARP. SAP was subsequently implemented in phases across Huaxin Cement’s multiple locations in China.

The Result

Working intimately with both Huaxin Cement and Holcim throughout the project, the Capgemini team was able to identify conflict between the HARP and Chinese accounting requirements, and help both enterprises identify common interests and devise solutions. The SAP solution that was deployed strikes a reasonable balance and delivers both requirements. Huaxin Cement now has a reliable SAP system and fully trained user team, thanks to the collaborative efforts invested by all participants involved.