ENTERPRISE PACKAGING DATA TRANSFORMATION · SPECIFICATION SYSTEMS · MASTER DATA · SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
As McCormick transitioned from SAP ECC to S/4HANA, the packaging specification capability historically housed within ECC was not included in the scope of the new ERP implementation. At the same time, the business had chosen to consolidate R&D specification management within DevEx rather than invest in a separate platform for packaging.
Packaging therefore needed to move from an established ERP-based specification environment into a system designed primarily around formulation data—while preserving the technical information required to develop, source, manufacture, and govern packaging.
ROLE
DATA LEAD — PACKAGING
Template architecture · Field definition · Legacy data mapping · Functional validation · Packaging SME coordination
THE SYSTEM TRANSITION / 01
The ERP modernization created an unusual systems problem. SAP ECC had historically housed packaging data and packaging specification templates, but that functionality would not continue within the future S/4HANA scope.
Rather than invest in and maintain separate specification systems for formulation and packaging, the business elected to bring packaging into DevEx—the R&D specification platform being developed primarily around formulation requirements.
LEGACY ENVIRONMENT — SAP ECC
Packaging specifications and associated data maintained within the existing ERP environment.
ENTERPRISE DIRECTION — SAP S/4HANA
The future ERP architecture would not include the same packaging-specification capability.
R&D PLATFORM — DEVEX
Packaging would need to operate within the broader R&D specification environment.
The challenge wasn’t simply moving data. Packaging had to be represented correctly inside a system that wasn’t originally centered on packaging.
RATIONALIZING THE ARCHITECTURE / 02
The broader project team established which legacy specification types would be consolidated. My responsibility was helping translate that consolidation strategy into a functional packaging architecture within DevEx.
Working with the implementation consultant, I defined the fields and behaviors required within the 17 new templates, determined which legacy information needed to be retained or left behind, and reviewed functionality with the packaging engineering team.
~40
LEGACY PACKAGING TEMPLATES
CONSOLIDATE · STANDARDIZE · RESTRUCTURE
17
NEW PACKAGING TEMPLATES
METAL CLOSURE + PLASTIC CLOSURE
→ CLOSURE
CORRUGATE CASE + CORRUGATE TRAY + CORRUGATE INSERT + OTHER CORRUGATE FORMATS
→ CORRUGATE
Template consolidation strategy was established by the broader project team; my role focused on translating that strategy into the field architecture and functionality required in DevEx.
DESIGNING THE DATA MODEL / 03
Combining previously separate specification types created a new problem: a common template still needed to represent technically different packaging components.
For each template, fields had to support the information packaging engineers actually needed while accommodating differences between component types.
PACKAGING KNOWLEDGE
Materials · Components · Manufacturing requirements
FIELD ARCHITECTURE
Required attributes
Optional attributes
Controlled selections
Component-specific information
DEVEX TEMPLATE
Functional packaging representation
I worked with the implementation consultant to define template fields, required and optional attributes, and functional behavior, while continuously reviewing the developing system with the packaging engineering team.
MAPPING THE LEGACY DATA / 04
Legacy data required transformation before migration.
Thousands of lines of legacy packaging data reflected years of different data-entry methods and system behaviors. Some information existed as controlled selections, some as free text, some as hard-coded values, and some within user-created conventions.
Moving that information required more than matching column names.
LEGACY VALUE
PS_Label: [adhesive / structure]
PARSE / TRANSFORM
Remove legacy convention · Preserve meaningful attribute
DEVEX VALUE
[adhesive / structure]
KEEP
TRANSFORM
MAP
LEAVE BEHIND
Each legacy field had to be evaluated against the new template architecture to determine whether the information should transfer directly, be transformed into a new structure, or be left behind.
VALIDATING THE MIGRATION / 05
As legacy packaging data moved from SAP ECC into DevEx, validation became the check between technical intent and system output. I established and executed pre-load and post-load validation to verify that packaging data was transformed and migrated as intended.
I also executed UAT and FAT to evaluate system functionality and migration behavior, using reports and functional reviews to identify mismatches, unexpected values, and issues requiring investigation before the data could be considered reliable within the new architecture.
SAP ECC
Legacy record
MIGRATION
DEVEX
Migrated record
VALIDATE
EXPECTED
≠
ACTUAL
→
INVESTIGATE
The objective wasn't simply migration completeness. It was preserving the technical meaning of the packaging data.
RECONSTRUCTING BOM LOGIC / 06
Packaging BOM roll-ups appeared straightforward at the component level: bottles, closures, tamper-evident seals, bundling material, and corrugated cases combined into a finished configuration.
But attempts to reproduce SAP calculations manually exposed discrepancies between component-level calculations and legacy-system outputs, particularly around weight roll-ups and unit conversions.
12× Bottle
12× Closure
12× TE Seal
2× Bundling Film
1× Case
Component quantities + weights + unit conversion
MANUAL RESULT
≠
SAP RESULT
Rather than assume equivalency, discrepancies were surfaced through validation and investigated as part of system development.
FUNCTIONAL REVIEW / 07
Throughout development, proposed functionality and system behavior were reviewed with the packaging engineering team. Feedback from subject-matter users informed refinement of templates, fields, and workflows as the new architecture progressed toward migration.
BUILD
REVIEW
TEST
REFINE
I served as the connection between packaging subject-matter expertise and system implementation—translating engineering requirements into functionality and bringing system behavior back to the team for review.
HANDOFF / 08
My involvement concluded while data migration and validation were underway.
~40 → 17
Legacy specification types represented within the new 17-template packaging architecture.”
THOUSANDS
Lines of legacy packaging data entering mapping, migration, and validation workflows.
PACKAGING + R&D
Packaging specification capability incorporated into the broader DevEx environment.
At the conclusion of my involvement, the 17-template packaging architecture had been developed and legacy packaging data was actively being migrated from SAP ECC into DevEx for validation. My work established template structures, field logic, data mappings, and validation methods supporting the packaging migration.
ENGINEERING PRINCIPLE
A packaging specification may ultimately exist as fields, values, and relationships inside a database, but those values represent real materials, components, manufacturing requirements, and supply-chain decisions. System architecture succeeds when that engineering meaning survives the transformation.
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