Enabling Lhoist’s digital transformation through a global SAP S/4HANA migration

Lhoist’s one of the world’s leading producers of lime, dolime, and mineral-based products, operating in more than 28 countries with over 6,000 employees. As a key supplier to sectors such as construction, steel, and agriculture, the company plays a vital role in supporting global industry.

To keep pace with its growth and meet rising expectations for operational efficiency and real-time insight, Lhoist launched a strategic programme to modernise its core IT landscape. At the heart of this transformation was the move from SAP ECC (ERP Central Component) to SAP S/4HANA, delivered through the RISE with SAP offering. The goal wasn’t to simply upgrade technology, but to build a more agile, transparent, and scalable foundation for the future.

Lhoist’s legacy SAP ECC system had supported the business for decades, underpinning a wide range of processes across its global footprint. 

The company needed a solution that would simplify its architecture, improve data quality, and support future innovation without disrupting day-to-day operations. The move to S/4HANA was critical for this. But the scale of the migration, involving around 3,500 end users and more than three terabytes of data, introduced significant technical and organisational complexity.

Alongside the core migration, Lhoist planned to merge controlling areas, activate over 200 SAP Fiori applications, and transition to a cloud-based environment through RISE with SAP. Delivering these changes required careful planning, rigorous testing, and strong change management to secure a smooth transition and long-term adoption.

To manage the scale and sensitivity of the programme, Lhoist adopted a Bluefield migration strategy. This approach allowed it to selectively transition data, retaining what was most valuable, while streamlining the overall system. With more than two decades of historical records, this strategy helped reduce risk and maintain continuity.

PwC worked closely with data migration specialists, SNP Group, to carry out the data migration, using specialised tools to align legacy data with the new system design. At the same time, the shift to SAP S/4HANA was delivered through RISE with SAP, giving Lhoist a flexible and scalable cloud infrastructure.  

Designing the new system also laid the groundwork for future innovation. Together with Lhoist, we introduced SAP Fiori apps to deliver a modern, device-independent user experience that’ll support its evolving business needs. 

Testing played a central role in building confidence across the organisation. From the outset, PwC worked with Lhoist to design a testing strategy that would minimise risk and ensure readiness at every stage. This included three full test migrations, a go-live simulation, and a final go-live. Each round of testing helped bring issues to light so they could be resolved early, giving teams the assurance they needed to move forward without disruption. 
 

Equally important was preparing people for the change. Change management was embedded throughout the programme, with PwC supporting both IT and business teams via training, documentation, and user testing. This hands-on support helped users feel confident and equipped to work with the new system from day one. That focus on user readiness proved essential to the success of the go-live and the long-term adoption of the new platform.

The transformation delivered a modern, cloud-based ERP system that supports Lhoist’s global operations and future growth. The migration was completed within scope and budget, with minimal disruption to the business. Strategic data cleansing and system upgrades improved data accuracy and operational efficiency, enabling better decision making and streamlined processes.

The move to S/4HANA and the cloud gave Lhoist a future-ready infrastructure that can scale with the business. The successful go-live reflected the strength of the planning, testing, and change management efforts. The collaborative delivery model made sure that all partners remained aligned throughout the programme.

By modernising its ERP landscape, Lhoist has strengthened its operational resilience and positioned itself to respond more effectively to market demands, regulatory changes, and innovation opportunities. Ultimately, the transformation has laid the foundation for continued digital evolution and long-term value creation.