Furniture manufacturer De Toekomst lays foundation for flexible growth with SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud

Furniture factory De Toekomst is working on a major digitisation project through the GROW with SAP programme, switching to SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud. This ERP transformation should give the family business more control over its financial and operational processes and establish a future-proof IT infrastructure. The go-live is scheduled for July, but the first improvements are already visible.

As a manufacturer of reclining chairs, dining chairs and other furniture, Meubelfabriek De Toekomst operates in a trend-sensitive market. With 550 chair models and more than one and a half million possible configurations, managing product variants and stocks is complex. The company had been working with SAP ECC since 2010, but was increasingly encountering limitations.

To overcome these challenges, Furniture factory De Toekomst opted for SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud based on GROW with SAP. The public cloud variant was deliberately chosen to minimise customisation and make use of SAP’s best practices. SAP partner Ctac guided the implementation. ‘We wanted a fresh start with a clean environment and a standardised working method,’ says Heikens.

During the transition, existing customisation was critically reviewed. Initially, some of the customisation was scrapped, but it gradually became apparent that certain functionalities were still necessary. These included the automatic processing of configuration data and a streamlined process for feedback on production data. ‘We realised that in some cases we had been too rigorous in scrapping customisation,’ admits Heikens. ‘But thanks to the flexibility of SAP S/4HANA, we were able to add the necessary functionality without placing an unnecessary burden on the system.’

Major steps

Although SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud is not scheduled to go live until July, Furniture factory De Toekomst is already seeing the benefits of the transformation. Thanks to the preparatory steps, the company already has real-time insight into financial performance, both in the Netherlands and in Romania. This enables management to make adjustments more quickly and take better-informed decisions.

In addition, the standardisation of processes has made working methods more efficient. Whereas departments used to work according to their own methods, they now follow uniform processes. This not only increases efficiency, but also helps with compliance with complex regulations, especially in Romania.

Flexible production and supply chain

Flexibility in production and the supply chain has also improved significantly. The furniture industry is highly dependent on trends and seasonal demand. Thanks to the switch to SAP S/4HANA, Meubelfabriek De Toekomst can better align its inventory management and production planning with current market conditions, resulting in shorter delivery times and faster customer service.

The go-live of SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud is scheduled for July. ‘It’s an intensive process, but we are already seeing the benefits of a standardised system,’ says Heikens. ‘This not only helps us work more efficiently today, but also lays a solid foundation for the future.’