Implico pursues new strategic direction together with EGERIA

The management team of Implico, a leading provider of software solutions for the digitization of business processes in the supply chain of energy and natural resources (ENR), could win EGERIA as a new investor. With EGERIA’s support, Implico will continue to develop as a growth platform for industry-specific SAP software solutions. Specifically, this involves Implico focusing on its partnership with SAP and applying its extensive expertise in software solution development to other industry verticals. By doing so, Implico will evolve into an independent software vendor (ISV) that can apply its knowledge – acquired from some of the most complex value chains – in modular software solutions across various industries. As part of the repositioning, the terminal management business has been carved-out into the newly founded OpenTAS GmbH, which will remain with the existing shareholders.

By pursuing a new strategic direction, Implico is strengthening its position as a leading SAP solution extension (SOLEX) partner within the SAP ecosystem. With decades of experience in the handling of bulk commodities and respective automation solutions, Implico will now roll-out this expertise across other segments and, in the future, focus on developing cross-industry software products. Having split off its highly specialized midstream business that concentrates exclusively on the oil and gas industry, Implico has all the room it needs to maneuver accordingly.

With the development of its industry and automation solutions SAP S/4HANA SDM and SAP S/4HANA RFNO, Implico has an unique positioning for automation of highly specialized SAP processes and data aggregation. These two modules represent the industry standard and the leading SOLEX solutions for SAP modules in the ENR segment. The solutions are certified and distributed by SAP. As a SOLEX partner, Implico’s software fulfills the highest quality standards applied by SAP.

“Our partnership with SAP has been a key foundation on which Implico’s success is built for more than 25 years. At the same time, it guarantees that our customers and implementation partners receive the maximum level of reliability and quality from our solutions, along with long-term availability,” states Rolf Adam, CEO of Implico. “With EGERIA’s support, we can significantly accelerate our strategic growth and ongoing transformation while focusing entirely on the development of leading industry-specific products that build on existing SAP solutions. Our goal is to fully realize their potential and help our customers boost both their efficiency and profit through the use of data. Implico will grow alongside these customers and benefit in terms of increasing revenues and workforce,” explains Adam.

“We are impressed by Implico’s unique position in the SAP ecosystem and the international base of customers that the company has built up and consolidated in the past few years. The company is primed to apply its expertise in automation to other industries with comparable supply chain processes. Going forward, Implico will build on its success in the market as a software house for cross-industry, SAP-related software and services. We look forward to supporting the Implico team on its growth trajectory and scaling its portfolio of products and services,” states Sven H. Schulze, Partner at EGERIA, in reference to the private equity firm’s partnership with Implico.

Focus on SAP clean core strategy and S/4HANA migration

As a consequence, Implico will further consolidate its position as an SAP-centric ISV and will support SAP customers across various industries with solutions designed to diversify their product portfolios, integrate more raw material supply chains, scale new technologies, make inroads into new markets, and digitalize their processes.

The work on behalf of and in partnership with SAP will be based on the clean core approach. For customers, this involves eliminating individual solutions in favor of maximizing the use of standard solutions. As a result, companies can set up their systems to make them future-proof while reducing costs. This step calls for a transition to SAP S/4HANA, which represents a comprehensive upgrade to all processes and offers higher efficiency, security and sustainability. Additional need for action stems from the fact that SAP will discontinue its support for older ERP systems (ECC) from 2027 and make updates – particular those relating to AI, IoT and machine learning – available solely in S/4HANA.

As a SOLEX solution provider, this opens up significant market potential for Implico given that the company is an experienced SAP partner. Implico is ideally positioned to assist its customers with the migration to S/4HANA and help them apply the platform to unlock additional potential revenue streams through the use of automation and data. The exclusive partnership with SAP and the focus on the business technology platform (BTP) and clean core approach position Implico as a reliable, long-term partner for all companies seeking to transform their business processes within the SAP ecosystem.

About Implico

Implico is a leading provider of solutions for the digitalization of business processes. Embedded in the SAP environment and aligned with the SAP clean core approach, the company develops highly standardized products for S/4HANA that are designed to increase efficiency and process security. With more than 40 years of experience in managing the supply chain of energy and natural resources, Implico has unparalleled expertise in automating SAP processes and data aggregation. A quality assurance program developed in house guarantees the seamless implementation of these solutions within a brief time frame. As an SAP development partner, Implico is subject to the highest quality standards – the same SAP applies to its own products. All solutions are certified and distributed by SAP, ensuring maximum reliability and long-term availability.

About EGERIA

EGERIA is an independent, pan-European investment firm founded in 1997 that focuses on investing in medium-sized companies. EGERIA invests in healthy businesses valued between EUR 50 and 350 million. Following their corporate theme “Boldly Building Together”, the firm pursues investments in outstanding companies in cooperation with management teams that embody an enterprising spirit.

EGERIA’s private equity portfolio consists of investments in more than 20 companies, with total revenue of approx. EUR 3 billion and more than 13,000 employees.