The goal is clear for Royal Greenland and its more than 40 plants and factories along the coast of Greenland and Atlantic Canada: a more standardized, cloud‑based landscape with significantly lower complexity, and a technological foundation that can support future AI initiatives.
Headquartered in Nuuk and 100% owned by the Government of Greenland, Royal Greenland is modernizing its SAP platform and moving from on premise to cloud ERP in order to future‑proof core processes and unlock embedded AI across its SAP business applications.
“We are moving from our existing setup to SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Business Data Cloud because we want access to the capabilities you can consume on a cloud platform,” said Lars Bo Hassinggaard, CIO at Royal Greenland for more than 25 years.
The company brings high‑quality wild‑caught fish and shellfish from the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean to consumers worldwide. It has been running SAP since 1998 but is now embarking on its most significant transition to date: migrating SAP ERP Central Component to SAP Cloud ERP while simultaneously elevating its business intelligence (BI) landscape into SAP Business Data Cloud and later transforming BI into SAP Datasphere.
The project follows the structured RISE with SAP framework, which consolidates platform transformation, operations, and the innovation cycle into one contract.
Lean, selective data transition: 90% fewer data to move
As part of the migration, Royal Greenland is reducing its data volume significantly using the “Lean Selective Data Transition” method.
“We are keeping 10 years of data and cleaning up, so we avoid outdated company codes and historical data that no longer create value,” Hassinggaard explained. “We’ve achieved a 90% reduction in what needs to be stored and migrated. The method combines data analysis, scoping, and standardized mapping objects in a guided process, ensuring that Royal Greenland only carries forward what is truly necessary, making the financials of the transformation more predictable and avoiding unnecessary complexity.”
Technology first, innovation next
Go‑live is planned for March 1, 2027. The year 2026 is dedicated to the platform lift itself. From 2027, Royal Greenland will begin building business‑driven improvements on top of the standardized core—for example, new user interfaces and process optimization using small AI agents within finance and administration.
“Royal Greenland and SAP have worked together since 1998, and we look forward to getting started on the technical part of the platform uplift this January,” Hassinggaard shared. “We’re keeping the transformation as simple as possible for now and will use 2027 to activate the benefits, such as improved data analysis, better user experience, and more efficient work processes.”
Royal Greenland is following a classic waterfall approach and has already established a “golden shell” as the basis for further configuration and retrofitting.
SAP is responsible for implementing the cloud solution, which will run on Microsoft Azure, initially in Sweden, with the option to move later to a Danish data center. External advisor Spektra Analytics has supported contract validation.
From in‑house experiments to standardized, “consumed” AI
Although Royal Greenland has already successfully experimented with its own AI solutions, including vision‑based projects in production, the strategic direction ahead is to leverage embedded, standardized AI data products from SAP and models built on the SAP Business Data Cloud and its semantic data layer.
“We are a company that prefers to tap into existing AI solutions rather than invent them ourselves,” Hassinggaard said. “It’s far more efficient for us. There is no reason for us to spend resources reinventing what SAP already provides. The initial focus will be on process optimization within administrative functions such as finance—small AI agents that can streamline daily work.”
Advice to others: Allocate more time, and understand your method
Hassinggaard is clear that the RISE with SAP contract, methodology, and preparation work require time and organizational maturity. His advice to other companies facing a similar cloud ERP decision: “Do it thoroughly—and allocate more time than you think. Study the methodology, pricing, and contracts. And bring a competent advisor on board.”
Ellen Vig Nelausen is an integrated communications expert for SAP Regional Communications.