INNOVATION CONSORTIUM
SAP in the Cloud: How Liberty Utilities selected IBM for a full hybrid-cloud implementation of SAP S/4 Hana ERP, EAM and C/4 Hana
PRESENTED BY: John Lowson, VP Transition Management & IT, Liberty Utilities and Christina Schueneman, Director of Technology Assessment and Selection Practice, AAC Utility Partners
SUMMARY: Liberty Utilities utilized an innovative rapid selection and contracting process to select IBM for a full Hybrid-Cloud Implementation of SAP S/4 Hana ERP, EAM, and C/4 Hana. This complex implementation will span across 40 different utilities covering 13 different states in the US and Canada and a fixed price contract was desired with strong incentives for vendor quality and timeliness. Utilizing an innovative approach Liberty was able to preserve quality, fairness, and attention to detail while communicating detailed needs to the Vendor community to receive a robust fixed price contract. This session will review the overall project including project strategy, procurement, selection and contracting phase.
PRESENTATIONS & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
John Lowson, VP, Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp Joins the Advisory Board of Cloud for Utilities
How Liberty Utilities Recognized Hybrid-Cloud Need
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Presentation Preview: John Lowson, Liberty Utilities & Christina Schueneman, AAC Utility Partners
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PRESENTERS
John Lowson,VP, Transition Management & IT, Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp
John leads the IT function at Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp, a $10BN+ diversified power generation and utility company. He is focused on building an IT organization and platform capable of supporting this rapidly growing company. During his seven-plus years there, John has overseen the integration of over 500,000 distribution customers, and the standardization of IT infrastructure, applications, operations, and cybersecurity. Algonquin does business in North America under the name ‘Liberty Utilities’.
Prior to joining Algonquin, John spent 18 years a consultant in the utilities industry in North America, including 15 years at Accenture. John has worked at clients such as ERCOT, Hydro One, SoCal Edison, Enbridge Gas and Ameren, helping these clients with large transformations involving major systems implementations and sourcing arrangements.
Christina Schueneman, Director of Technology Assessment and Selection Practice, AAC
As the Director of Technology Assessment and Selection Practice with AAC, Christina is passionate about driving a culture of continuous improvement and assisting utilities to create thoughtful technology adoption plans and strategies. She has led and mentored teams through technology assessments, selections, implementations, and integration of systems and products including Customer Information Systems (CIS), Work Management Systems (WAMS), Financial Management Systems (FMS), mobile application development, field mobile systems, and customer self-service portals. Projects have included Needs Assessments, mission-critical system selection including RFP design and development, implementation strategy, business process documentation and training, staffing readiness, risk assessments, and contract reviews.
Christina has successfully delivered projects ranging from 3M to 45M for various clients including Nashville Electric Service, Alta Gas, Liberty Utilities, Eastern Municipal Water District, San Gabriel Valley Water, and others.
Christina’s passion for improvement and her incredible motivation have driven her to complete her MBA, graduate from law school, build a business from the ground up, and manage large-scale system assessments and implementations.