Northern Rail went live with mySAP ERP 2005 on 8th January 2007, 3 months from start to finish.  A full replacement, and enhancement, of their existing SAP R/3 3.1f system has been completed, including improved reporting using SAP BI and Enterprise Portals.

Northern Rail was formed from a merger of two train operating companies in December 2004 and inherited an ageing 3.1F SAP system for running its financial and purchasing functions ? a legacy from the early years of rail privatisation. It was soon apparent that the system had limited useful functionality and no scope for adding value to current systems. The extended maintenance for the old system was due to expire so the board was recommended to move the business forward by upgrading the system.     

?Bluefin engaged at all stages of this project, providing focused project management, invaluable knowledge transfer and in-depth technical advice?, said Ian Bevan, Finance Director of Northern Rail. ?This support enabled us to make our own informed decisions as to the future direction of SAP and the business itself?.

The first step was a week?s upgrade scoping of the current systems and working procedures. Bluefin?s Functional and Technical Consultants held an upgrade workshop with key Northern Rail employees, followed by on-site analysis of the current systems. The remainder of the analysis was completed offsite, and the results were assembled for a project proposal presentation one week later.
 
Following the presentation, Northern Rail felt confident in Bluefin?s recommendation to make the biggest change that it could ? an upgrade to mySAP ERP 2005, including ECC6, Business Intelligence and Enterprise Portals.