How a Global EV Battery Manufacturer Automated Testing for Millions of Data Points in Its SAP S/4HANA Migration
Digital Transformation Challenge for a Global Battery Manufacturer
A leading global supplier of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, Company A provides products to top automakers including Tesla, Volkswagen, GM, and Hyundai. With tens of thousands of employees and production facilities worldwide, the company generates annual revenue in the tens of billions.
To enhance global competitiveness and operational agility, the company initiated a multi-year migration from SAP ECC to S/4HANA. This large-scale digital transformation spanned multiple subsidiaries and international operations, presenting unique challenges across data validation and system integration.
Project Challenges
Massive Data Validation Complexity
Company A faced unique challenges during the migration process:
Managing and migrating data for hundreds of thousands of battery components and raw materials records
Needing to transfer millions of production and quality control records
Requirements for perfect traceability - even small errors in battery quality could lead to major incidents
Traditional manual testing methods could not scale to this level. Validating all data points manually would require thousands of hours of manpower and effort.
Challenges with Integration Tests
A major obstacle was testing the SAP system in conjunction with various external platforms:
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Supply Chain Management (SCM) solutions
Quality Management and other business-critical systems
Creating realistic test data was difficult, as critical records like Work Orders (W/O), Purchase Orders (P/O), Sales Orders (S/O), and financial documents were generated through these integrations.
Unique Challenges in the Battery Industry
Unlike general manufacturing, the battery industry has unique and stringent requirements:
Extreme Quality Control: Even a single defect can lead to serious safety issues like vehicle fires
Complete Traceability: All production processes and quality test results for every battery cell must be tracked for over 10 years
Complex Chemical Properties: Management of all manufacturing environmental data including monitoring of temperature, humidity, and chemical conditions
Global Regulatory Compliance: Varying safety certifications and regulatory requirements by country
Innovative Test Automation Solution with PerfecTwin
To address these challenges, Company A introduced PerfecTwin, a test automation solution specialized for SAP environments.
Company A’s QA manager quoted:
"Through PerfecTwin, we discovered various errors that would have been impossible to find through manual testing among hundreds of thousands of battery cell data points,"
PerfecTwin’s automated testing played a critical role in reducing project risks by uncovering data and interface errors before go-live
Real Data-Driven Testing at Scale
PerfecTwin enabled mass data-based automated testing:
Millions of MES records from several months of daily production data cycles
Over a million work order spanning all production processes and product families
Extensive inventory data across diverse product lines
Testing based on real data allowed for precise validation beyond the limits of manual work.
External System Integration Testing
PerfecTwin also facilitated robust integration testing:
Support the testing of 10+ connected systems including production, logistics, SCM, procurement, finance, and HR
Validated SAP inbound/outbound data accuracy
Reduced the cost and complexity of test environment setup
Driving Results: Detecting Hidden Errors and Mitigating Risk
The introduction of test automation was a decisive success factor in Company A's SAP migration project.
One particularly notable finding was the discovery of subtle data conversion errors that only appeared under specific conditions.
Key Error Types Detected Using PerfecTwin
1. Data Migration Errors
Attribute mismatches in battery cell master data
Incomplete BOM hierarchy information
Cost data inconsistencies
2. Business Logic Differences
Inconsistencies in battery traceability code logic
Changes in quality data processing between ECC and S/4HANA
3. Interface Timing Issues
MES data synchronization mismatches
Race conditions in mass order processing
Data transfer delays between global sites
Key Achievements of Test Automation Implementation
By implementing PerfecTwin, Company A achieved transformational outcomes:
Test Coverage: Increased from 30% to 99.9% (based on data variety)
Testing Time: Reduced by 95% compared to manual testing
Hidden Error Detection: Dozens of critical defects discovered in advance
External System Integration: Testing support for more than 10 external systems
Conclusion: A New Standard for Large-Scale Data Migration
Company A’s SAP S/4HANA migration highlights the critical role of test automation in manufacturing—particularly in high-precision, high-traceability industries like battery production.
By leveraging real operational data and validating integration with more than 10 external systems, this project set a new standard for large-scale ERP migrations.
As global manufacturers accelerate their digital transformation, Company A's case demonstrate how test automation tools like PerfecTwin, can be a strategic enabler—bringing automation, accuracy, and assurance to ERP modernization efforts