success case
SAP optimization: 40% increase in order capacity and legal compliance
Better Now planned the regulation required by law with SAP performance testing of a major pharmaceutical distributor and 40% increase in the number of lost per minute.
Introduction
A large pharmaceutical distributor, based in Rio de Janeiro, needed to adapt to new regulations that required the separation of product categories in its SAP system to obtain tax benefits. The main concern was to make this change without compromising the performance of its sales platform, crucial for the business. Relying on Better Now's expertise in performance tests, the company came to us to ensure that the transition would be safe and efficient.
The client needed a way to adapt its SAP sales platform to comply with new regulatory requirements without impacting response times or introducing performance bottlenecks.
The key challenges identified were:
• Validating the Impact of the Change: It was necessary to assess how the new SAP flag, used to route orders to the appropriate database, would affect overall system performance and operational stability.
• Planning and Executing Strategic Performance Tests: We needed to design realistic test workloads that accurately reflected production usage patterns, executing multiple test cycles to compare system behavior with and without the new flag enabled.
• Monitoring and Root Cause Analysis: Our testing strategy included comprehensive monitoring of key performance indicators such as CPU utilization, memory consumption, disk usage, and error rates in order to identify potential bottlenecks, infrastructure constraints, and performance offenders.
• Answering Critical Business and Technical Questions: At the conclusion of the project, the assessment needed to provide clear answers to three fundamental questions:
Did the change impact application response times?
Did overall system performance improve or degrade?
What performance bottlenecks or root causes were identified?
Better Now developed a structured and transparent strategy for the client, supported by a clear roadmap and well-defined execution phases. Our methodology included:
• Assessment and Planning: Our team of specialists conducted a comprehensive analysis of the business process and technical requirements, defining the testing workloads, success criteria, and execution strategy required to accurately evaluate the impact of the proposed change.
• Smoke Testing: An initial smoke test was performed to validate order creation within the target environment and fine-tune the test scripts, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of subsequent performance test executions.
• Performance Test Execution: Multiple test cycles were executed with the SAP flag both enabled and disabled, allowing for a controlled comparison of results and the isolation of performance impacts directly attributable to the change.
• Data Consolidation and Reporting: Results from each testing cycle were consolidated into a comprehensive performance assessment report, providing the analytical foundation for executive presentations and data-driven decision-making.
Results
The results exceeded the customer's expectations and confirmed the viability of the change. The detailed analysis of our test batteries showed a significant gain in performance.
- The system response time was not impacted by the new "Flag" (with a response time of 0.0018 ms to 0.0022 ms).
- Have not been identified CPU, memory or disk bottlenecks during the execution of the tests
- The new change was validated as safe to enter production, without risk of compromising the operation.
Thanks to performance tests, the Better Now not only validated the change, but also managed to increase the system's capacity in 40%, going from 124 to 574 orders per minute, which is equivalent to more than 34,000 orders per hour, an increase of more than 400% in capacity.
Details and Conclusion
The Better Now It allowed the pharmaceutical distributor to adapt to the legislation without risking the stability of its operations. Our detailed and data-driven approach ensured that the change was implemented with complete security.
The success of the project reinforced the importance of the performance test as a strategic tool for decision making. It not only prevents risks, but also reveals opportunities for optimization and improvement, such as increasing order processing capacity. The partnership with Better Now It provided the customer with the confidence to proceed with the change, while preparing it for a future with greater volume of business.
