A city that grows for decades without a development plan becomes difficult to manage. Buildings meet local needs, functions overlap and the overall picture disappears. IT landscapes in large organisations can develop in similar ways. For a leading German automotive manufacturer, ITM Consulting created a digital blueprint in SAP LeanIX. It now shows each organisational unit's current application landscape and strategic target state.
01 The challenge
Strategic planning needs comparable transparency
The group operates more than 10,000 applications across over 50 plants and market organisations. Numerous business units, processes and local requirements add further complexity. Each organisational unit needs to understand how closely its current application landscape aligns with the strategic target state.
Without a consistent data foundation, this question is difficult to answer. Gaps between current and target states remain hidden. Organisations cannot be compared reliably, and strategic planning depends more on experience than on consistent evidence.
The task therefore extended well beyond creating reports. The programme first needed a coherent business and technical foundation that could structure more than 10,000 applications, keep the data current and support reliable analysis.
02 The approach
A data model that makes target states manageable
Configure the SAP LeanIX meta model
ITM Consulting configured the complete meta model for strategic planning. This included Fact Sheet types, relationships and custom fields. The model represents applications, organisations, processes and strategic requirements consistently, allowing results to be compared across all participating units.
Protect data quality through automation
Technical implementations and automations keep the data current and consistent. They reduce manual maintenance, apply defined rules reliably and create a sound foundation for reporting.
Compare current and target landscapes
AI-assisted custom reports show how each organisational unit's current application landscape compares with its strategic target state. Views range from the overall landscape down to individual processes. Colour coding and interactive filters reveal where the target has been reached and where action is required.
Compare organisations and blueprints
Additional reports compare organisational units with their blueprint requirements and with one another. ITM Consulting deployed the solution to the group's production SAP LeanIX workspace, giving business and IT stakeholders a common data foundation.
Strategic planning becomes manageable when the current landscape, target state and required actions are based on the same data model.
03 The outcome
From isolated views to continuous management
Distributed records became a manageable view of the application landscape. Business and IT stakeholders can see which organisations and processes already align with the strategic target state and where concrete action is needed.
The shared view improves comparability across plants and market organisations. It strengthens governance and provides an evidence-based foundation for prioritisation, investment decisions and the continued development of the application landscape.
Strategic planning is now a continuously measurable process. Changes to current and target landscapes remain traceable, and progress can be assessed using current data.
Looking to align your IT landscape with strategic priorities? Explore our SAP LeanIX capabilities or talk to us about your strategic planning.