Japan’s Mizkan Gets Agile with RISE with SAP

Complex IT infrastructure is often a significant barrier to agility for established enterprises. The Mizkan Group, a major Japanese food company with a history spanning over two centuries, faced this exact challenge. The company had over 100 separate legacy systems that impeded its efficiency and productivity. Therefore, to create a more resilient and profitable management foundation, Mizkan initiated a comprehensive overhaul of its core business processes in Japan.

According to SAP, this transformation project, executed in partnership with PwC Consulting and SAP Japan, culminated in a successful go-live of a unified cloud platform in May 2025.

A Fit-to-Standard Cloud Implementation

Mizkan’s strategy was centered on the RISE with SAP offering. Through this methodology, it adopted a fit-to-standard approach to minimise customisations and streamline operations. This move was pivotal in integrating previously siloed business areas, particularly in accounting and Supply Chain Management (SCM), across its domestic group companies.

Now, Mizkan’s unified architecture represents a comprehensive, multi-cloud approach that utilises a suite of integrated SAP solutions. They include:

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud serves as the core ERP system.
• SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP) standardises and improves supply and demand management (S&OP).
• SAP Analytics Cloud provides a unified platform for business intelligence and data visualisation.
• SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) enables agile development and integration.
• SAP Promotion and Agreement by Vistex manages complex sales and promotion expenses.

The successful, on-schedule implementation resulted in the replacement or elimination of Mizkan’s legacy systems. This has provided the Japanese company with a flexible, modern foundation capable of handling its diverse product lines while being prepared for future business and environmental changes.

What This Means for Mastering SAP Insiders

Mizkan’s project offers a valuable blueprint for other enterprises in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region contemplating a similar transformation:

1. Fit-to-Standard is a viable strategy for diverse APAC markets. Market-specific nuances and regulations make standardisation impossible in the diverse APAC region. However, Mizkan’s successful transformation in a complex domestic market like Japan proves that a disciplined fit-to-standard approach works. For professionals advising clients in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Greater China, this case is a powerful argument for unifying core processes on SAP S/4HANA Cloud. This reduces complexity and total cost of ownership (TCO), while country-specific requirements can be addressed through localised configurations or extensions on SAP BTP, protecting the digital core.
2. Radical simplification is the strongest business case. The most compelling metric from this project is the decommissioning of over 100 systems. For many long-standing APAC conglomerates and family-owned enterprises, IT landscapes have become incredibly fragmented through decades of acquisitions and siloed growth. Mastering SAP Insiders should frame large-scale transformation projects around the theme of radical simplification, which includes massive operational savings, reduced risk, and enhanced data integrity that come from eliminating costly, outdated systems.
3. Leverage an integrated platform to address regional challenges. A key part of Mizkan’s project was the adoption of an integrated cloud platform. This is critical in a region that faces unique challenges like supply chain volatility and complex trade promotion ecosystems. Thus, using SAP IBP for resilient supply chain planning, Vistex for managing intricate channel promotions, and SAP Analytics Cloud for consolidated regional reporting provides a comprehensive solution that directly addresses the specific pain points and growth opportunities within the dynamic APAC market.