Alcides Fialho

Director of the Replatforming of one of the biggest Sanofi's SAP cluster

Nordex is a Global company in the Sustainable Energy sector and is embracing a complex S4  migration journey from its outdated system landscape. To manage the implementation partner and the multiple internal stakeholders (between business, IT, and system integrator), they were looking for an experienced Program Manager to set up this 10M+ budget Program, from methodology to program plan, rollout country selection process to the day-to-day operation of the multiple workstreams, etc., including:

On the strategic level:

• Development and preparation of the rollout country selection process for the rollout plan; 
• Program methodology decision and implementation -a hybrid between agile and SAP activate;
• Deliverables definition agreement into SoW;
• Preparation of budget overview (capex and opex views);

On the operational/content level:

• Definition of the complete project plan (following the implementation methodology);
• Day-to-day execution - from daily standups, issue management calls, sprint checkpoints, project weekly status reports, sprint reporting, and dashboarding;
• Support on user stories definition and their plan into sprints,  sprint entry, and exit criteria, including test cases and its execution plan adequately aligned with the business;

Responsible for the SAP Rollout Program's organization from strategic planning to its execution by professionalizing and streamlining the rollout strategy that allows the Transformation Office at Bihr to roll out their SAP solutions (S4 Hana and SAP Commerce solution) to their worldwide locations quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. The Program setup & execution included areas such as:

• Translation of the Management view to operational planning;
• Envision, align, and comprehensively design the project execution methodology (hybrid between Agile - Activate (and some waterfall));
• Coordinate internal resources and third parties/vendors;
• Managed Bihr's strategic and operational relationships with crucial implementation partners;
• Team preparation and setup - role definition and structure for project execution;
• On the operational part, acted as the sole hands-on Senior Project Manager for the first rollouts of S/4, SAP Commerce Cloud, and SAP EWM templates to Iberia and the UK (first rollout countries), including all day-to-day project activities, reporting, financials, cutover strategy, preparation, and its execution until handover to support;
• Master Data lead support in connection to the Cutover execution, ensuring a successful go-live;

Deutsche Borse is currently migrating its current SAP ECC systems to the new S/4 HANA 1909 (Cloud Version 2011) by running a 4-year brownfield program to achieve not only a system migration but a best practices implementation, including a process simplification process as well. The role was to support the setup and operationalization of the  Program while doing quality assurance on the Project management side as a Senior Advisor/Program Manager.

• Support GDB in setting up the SAP Program from a program setup & planning perspective, resources, budget calculation, and implementation risk analysis;
• Envision, prepare, and build the detailed implementation plan with risk-based alternatives of S/4 Product, including the discussions with the selected partner and alignment of the multiple projects across the program;
• Supporting GDB in initiating the implementation of the SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) solution - from the RFP process and partner selection to the preparation of the project execution plans, resources, milestones, integration across program initiatives, and change management.
• Review of the overall project plans, alignment, and integration across the program, with a clear identification of the main strategic and operational risks with their mitigation actions;
• Responsible for the design of the overall Cutover and Data Migration approach and blueprint, plan, resources, and integration with business operations for the complete program.

After the acquisition of Merck Consumer Health division of a $4.2 billion deal, the merger program was the natural next step, for which solid senior expertise was required, so the role was to support the business in the transition to the SAP S/4 HANA P&G global processes and systems (SAP and non-SAP). Leading the Iberia region with a team of 17 consultants (local and international), the main aspects were:

• Responsible for the implementation plans (SAP, Salesforce, Panaya, etc.) based on Matching and mapping sessions and scope sign-off;
• Support GMs in the significant decision of the 3PL choice (including all the pharma regulatory aspects)
• Resource plan (both global and local - business and technical resources);
• Planning and execution of all the testing, E2E testing, and KU training;
• Identification of project KPI and hyper care  KPI;
• Responsible for the Cutover approach design, plan, resourcing, and execution for both simulation and go-live cutovers until delivery to IT operations;
• Ensure a complete warehouse move (+300 SKU, 11MM Eur stock) and distribution ready on Monday to more than 5000 pharmacies (PT & ES) on the weekend (cutover) - Definition and execution of the complete Data Migration approach (technical and functional) and OTC processes;
• Weekly budget control and report
• Full implementation based on Activation methodology (SAP)

In a Global Program of implementation of SAP ITM (Transport Management),  the role included the design and build of a complete roll-out framework, integration of global shared services, and general operational support in 40+ sites/locations for a standardized process for outbound and inbound transport planning as well as full integration with international carriers (DHL, DSV, FedEx, etc.) for track & trace and supplier portals.

• Define the overall roll-out plan for 2019 for SAP TM (9.5) based on volumes and business case relevance;
• Build and execute the cutover plan for the US location go-live (the world second biggest Vestas production plant);
• Preparation of all the master data loading (CIF )
• Identification and follow-up of real-time  KPI for interfaces with 3PL.
• Support on Business cutover and ramp-down periods -communication to vendors, alignment with 3PL tests, training, and hyper care setup.

Fulfilled a critical role in designing, implementing, and leading a team executing cutover responsibilities for multiple releases of the ONE ERP (SAP S/4 HANA 1710) program at this leading provider of products and services for the heating and cooling industry.  Across all initiatives, ensuring the achievement of milestones and deliverables on time and with minimal impact on business operations while aligning IT and business requirements.  

• Built and trained a team of 6 cutover consultants, with continuing responsibility for resource planning and data migration load plans for all releases.
• On a 4 years program with 9 waves, managed the cutover execution and Go Live of the first wave of 3 countries over a weekend, defining with this the proved framework for the next waves including the blackout period setup while supporting the businesses on the ramp up and ramp down phases; As part of the framework Implemented the cutover plan by using for the first time at the customer landscape Microsoft Project Online together with Microsoft Power BI, and maintained accountability for training and business case development.
• Credited for having built one of the mandatory program components, completing goals in 9  months against a scheduled target duration time of 16 months.

Served as a Senior IT Project Lead on a wide-ranging initiative to consolidate and transition all warehouse operations for GE EMEA to a single location in Hungary, with accountability for SAP S4/HANA (1511 version) deployment, planning, resource management, and budget administration.  Coordinated activities with freight forwarders and 3PL companies.

• Led deployment definition, as well as delivery teams,  build; administered the budget to minimize variances; performed monthly closure processes.
• Executed the interface approach validation, security compliance validation,  and the testing scope with the 3PL suppliers.
• Defined and executed the cutover plan, including setting up a dry run, building contingency plans, and defining key users and locations.

Initially hired for a 6-month assignment which was eventually extended to four years at this leading brewing company, overseeing the planning, project setup, and execution of correction and enhancement Finance projects while aligning efforts between IT and business programs.

• In 2014 alone, executed 14 projects in 5 countries, with authority over 8 SAP Project Managers, two SAP Program Managers, and an average budget of €5.3M. Major achievements included the launch of the company’s first shared service center in Poland, generating substantial savings.
• Engaged in PMO development, reporting, and P&L management, in collaboration with the Finance Process Owner.

Led this €21M, 3-Year program to standardize and centralize the processes of 24 countries in Europe into a global shared service center in Poland (Krakow) by deploying a hybrid solution of SAP ECC 6.0 Order to Cash, integrated with S/4 HANA Finance 1503 Record to Report, and Purchase to Pay processes in accordance with Six Sigma principles.  Introduced new tools in the Heineken IT landscape that included SAP Invoice Management and the SAP Customer Interaction Center, which became ultimately standard company tools.

• Served as a senior project manager to define reports, budget control, and purchase responsibilities for the Shared Service Center, managing four transition managers and eight project managers.

Led the SAP ECC 6.0 Merge and template deployment throughout the Central South Europe and Great Britain regions for this industry-leading lighting corporation, with accountability for the full template deployment at the affected sites.  Managed team members in multiple countries while engaging in resource planning and evaluation.

• Applied the PRINCE2 methodology to manage the cutover of seven sites, while overseeing controls, execution, reporting, and Go/No Go meetings.
• Generated all documentation out of the PMO, including status reports and risk analysis.
• The project included the template build (Sales, Warehousing and Production) and deployment of TPM (Trade Promotion Management) as part of the CRM suite.