Driving The AA’s journey to SAP SuccessFactors ECP

Conflict between Payroll maintenance and system availability

The AA’s Human Resources and Payroll functions were embedded within their core SAP® ECC (ERP Central Component) system. Because this system was customer-facing and required constant availability, scheduling essential downtime for patching was very difficult, creating significant friction with business stakeholders. Furthermore, despite using SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, the existing ECC infrastructure caused replication issues, as the system couldn’t manage the high volume of data being processed.

The AA’s primary business drivers were the need for system independence, and operational reliability. By separating Payroll from the core ECC environment, The AA sought to eliminate scheduling conflicts and ensure a more stable, scalable data flow. Ultimately, they needed an optimised system that could support their large workforce without compromising customer-facing services.

A seamless cloud transition using EPI-USE Labs' PRISM for Payroll solution

To migrate The AA’s Payroll to SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP), EPI-USE Labs used our PRISM for Payroll solution. The client chose this approach to safely decouple Payroll from their core ECC system, while preserving historical data. The implementation involved creating a Unicode converted copy of The AA’s ERP system in a staging environment. Our experts then executed the technical migration to ECP, and configured point-to-point replication to ensure seamless data flow from Employee Central.

By providing integrated Payroll services support throughout, we resolved previous replication bottlenecks and eliminated the need for downtime of customer-facing systems, delivering a stable, high-performance cloud Payroll environment tailored to The AA’s operational scale.

Achieving operational agility through a decoupled Cloud Payroll system

Decoupling Payroll from the core ECC system has transformed The AA’s operational agility. The business no longer faces disruptive downtime, as patching cycles are now streamlined and independent of customer-facing systems. By migrating to SuccessFactors ECP, The AA now benefits from biannual functional releases, ensuring their technology remains cutting-edge.

A significant highlight was the implementation of the Payroll Control Center, which introduced a modern user interface, and automated process improvements.

These changes have addressed the business drivers of reliability and visibility, allowing the team to monitor the Payroll lifecycle in real time. The solution ensures that employees of The AA are paid accurately and on time, through a stable, future-ready cloud platform.

The AA also leverage EPI-USE Labs' HCM Productivity Suite to support their ongoing data and reporting needs in the new systems. 

About The AA

Founded in 1905, The AA has evolved into the UK’s largest motoring organisation, serving over 14 million members with everything from driving lessons to vehicle insurance. With 2,700 patrols handling 9,000 daily callouts, their operational scale is immense.