Outnorth implements SAP S/4HANA
Outnorth is part of Outnordic, Scandinavia's leading outdoor retail group. When the Swedish company merged with Norwegian Fjellsport in 2018, they faced a major challenge. Their old Navision ERP system was outdated and no longer supported, creating operational risks for the growing business. At the same time, Outnorth was moving to a new warehouse with advanced AutoStore automation - 60 robots, 95,000 bins, and 15 workstations. They needed a modern ERP system that could handle their growth and integrate seamlessly with the new warehouse technology.
Fjellsport had just updated to SAP S/4HANA with Pearl and recommended their new partners to follow the same approach. The result: a complete SAP S/4HANA implementation in just 18 weeks, giving Outnorth a modern, scalable platform for continued growth.
Challenge
When Outnorth joined forces with Fjellsport to form the Outnordic group, the Swedish outdoor retailer faced multiple critical challenges simultaneously. The company was operating on an outdated, unsupported version of Navision as their ERP system, creating significant operational risks.
As a rapidly growing online store expanding across Scandinavia, Finland, and Germany, Outnorth needed a solution capable of handling increased transaction volumes. The situation became more complex as the company was simultaneously moving to a new warehouse facility and implementing an advanced AutoStore robotic solution with 60 robots, 95,000 bins, and 15 workstations.
With limited time available and multiple risk factors in play, Outnorth required a new ERP solution that could integrate seamlessly with their AutoStore system while supporting their growth trajectory.
Solution
Outnorth's merger partner Fjellsport had already successfully implemented SAP S/4HANA with embedded EWM, integrated with AutoStore and operated on Amazon Web Services' cloud platform. As the first Nordic company to go live with this solution, Fjellsport had proven its effectiveness in the outdoor retail sector.
Given Fjellsport's excellent experience with both the solution and Pearl Group as implementation partner, plus the strategic advantage of maintaining consistent systems across the merged group, Outnorth chose to implement the same proven solution.
Pearl Group leveraged their extensive template solutions and industry expertise in e-commerce and logistics, adapting Fjellsport's configuration with local adjustments specific to Outnorth's requirements.
Customer's benefits
The implementation delivered significant advantages through proven technology and reduced risk. By reusing Fjellsport's tested solution, Outnorth avoided the typical challenges of first-implementation projects while achieving rapid deployment in just 18 weeks.
"We have a huge advantage in that Pearl knows Fjellsport 100%. They have had a long-term customer relationship, and Fjellsport is very satisfied. We save a lot on being able to implement Fjellsport's solution 1:1 and then, when needed, develop it further," explains Harald Ennen, CEO of Outnorth.
The solution provided enhanced operational security after years of running on unsupported systems. Moving to SAP S/4HANA delivered the stability, predictability, flexibility, and scalability essential for a rapidly growing company. The AWS cloud platform ensures more flexible and stable operations than traditional on-premise solutions.
Pearl Group's template approach, built from extensive industry knowledge and customer collaboration, significantly reduced implementation complexity. The similarities between Fjellsport and Outnorth's business models meant that much of the development work was already complete, allowing focus on optimization rather than fundamental configuration.
"The people in Pearl are professional and know what they are doing, so it has, so far, gone very well," notes Ennen, highlighting the smooth execution despite the project's complexity.
Looking forward, Outnorth sees continued value in the Pearl Group partnership through PearlCare services to ensure stable operations and ongoing system development.
Pearl has so far proven to be a steady partner, and it is always an advantage to have someone who has been involved in the implementation process and who knows the company. We can definitely see Pearl as a solid partner in the future as well.
- Harald Ennen, CEO of Outnorth
