Certia: Renewing a critical financial system for the education sector with SAP S/4HANA

Renewing a critical financial system for the education sector with SAP S/4HANA

Certia is at the forefront of HR, financial, and payroll administration in the education sector. Owned by its clients, universities, and colleges, Certia’s goal is to maximize resources and time for Finnish research and development and support innovation in the academic sector with easy-to-use services.

The challenge – updating a core system

Certia's strategic system update to SAP S/4HANA was needed because support for their current SAP ECC solution ends in 2027. The transition wasn’t just technical but also required an understanding of the unique industry landscape of academic institutions.

Certia partnered with Vincit to ensure a seamless transformation without disrupting the intricate workflows of Certia's clients. In addition, the project aimed to make client processes more efficient and improve the user experience of key services.

"Our expectations were high, and Vincit met them all. The project not only updated our systems but also set a new standard for how we support efficient operations in the academic financial sector. In addition, the Vincit team was really easy to work with.”

Saija Jänkävaara, Service Manager, Financial Systems / Certia

The solution – a well-planned and executed SAP S/4HANA transition

Vincit's S/4HANA knowledge, project management expertise, and ability to deliver the project on time were the three keys to success.

The project started with Certia and Vincit's detailed planning, which laid the groundwork for a smooth transition. Harmonizing existing functionalities with the capabilities of SAP S/4HANA ensured Certia's operational goals aligned with the technological advancements of the new system.

The implementation left enough time for testing prior to the critical end-of-the-year period when Certia’s clients build their yearly financial statements. As part of the transition, we introduced a Fiori launchpad with a user-friendly interface which works as a user desktop for all applications and links. This simplified interactions and streamlined processes, saving Certia’s customers valuable resources and time.

Expertise used

SAP architecture

Integrations

SAP implementation and cutover planning

Business driven solution design

UI design

Project management

Change management

Process design

Authorization concept design

The impact – operational efficiencies and innovation opportunities with a modern system

A timely and efficient system update

The well-executed project planning and management ensured Certia's critical financial operations were operational on time and as planned. There was no disruption to the end-of-year processes for Certia’s clients.

Customer satisfaction and operational efficiency

The positive feedback on the new sales invoicing application shows the project's impact on Certias’ client satisfaction and user experience. The reduction in manual data entry has significantly improved operational efficiency.

A foundation for future development

While technically oriented, the project laid the groundwork for future innovation. Certia now has a modern, agile S/4HANA solution that facilitates operational innovation and brings efficiencies to everyday processes.