Case study
Ethiopian Airlines
Real-Time Workforce Intelligence for Global Aviation
- Client: Ethiopian Airlines
- Industry: Aviation, MRO, Hospitality & Tourism
- Region: Ethiopia
Summary
Ethiopian Airlines partnered with Orane Consulting to modernize its HR, payroll, and enterprise SAP landscape across global operations. Orane delivered a unified SAP HCM system, global payroll for 48 countries, integrated talent modules, advanced analytics, and end-to-end SAP support—enabling the airline to streamline HR operations, enhance compliance, reduce costs, and improve employee experience across its multinational workforce.
Key Results
- Global payroll deployed for 48 countries
- Centralized HRIS with standardized processes
- Integrated HCM, Payroll, Talent & ESS/MSS workflows
- 24×7 SAP enterprise support across MM, FICO, SD, PS, PM
- Real-time HR analytics & global workforce visibility
Client Snapshot
Employees: Thousands of staff across crew, ground, engineering & global offices
Branch Network: 110+ international & 21 domestic destinations
Solutions Delivered (Features):
- SAP HCM global payroll for 48 countries
- HRIS for crew, expats & ground staff
- Integrated Talent Management
- ESS/MSS with corporate branding
- Multi-tier workflows for HR operations
- SAP MM, FICO, SD, PS, PM support
- Third-party medical data interface
- Predictable SAP support cost model (24×7)
Engagement Type: SAP HCM Global Transformation + Enterprise SAP Support
Implementation Duration: Multi-year global program
The Challenge
- Ethiopian Airlines operated with outdated, manual HR and payroll systems, making global workforce management slow, error-prone, and inconsistent across regions.
- The airline lacked a centralized HRIS, resulting in duplicate employee records, incomplete data, and poor data integrity across crew, expats, and ground staff.
- Managing payroll for 48 countries with varied statutory rules, allowances, and employee categories created high administrative complexity and compliance risk.
- Talent management processes were not connected to organizational goals, making it difficult to track performance, succession, and employee development effectively.
- Leadership had no real-time visibility into workforce analytics, payroll trends, or HR KPIs, limiting informed decision-making.
- Frequent structural changes in a fast-growing airline created a continuous need for SAP configuration updates and predictable support costs.
- Lack of integrated workflows across HR, finance, and medical systems resulted in operational inefficiencies and delays in managing employee life cycles.
The Solution
- Implemented a unified Global Payroll Engine supporting 48 countries, standardizing rules, allowances, compliance, and automated processing for all workforce categories.
- Deployed a centralized HRIS platform to manage employee lifecycle activities—onboarding, staffing, promotions, transfers, and master data integrity.
- Enabled fully integrated Talent Management modules for goals, performance evaluation, succession, and professional development.
- Rolled out ESS/MSS portals with multi-tier workflows and corporate branding, enabling employees and managers to perform HR tasks digitally.
- Designed seamless cross-module integration between HCM ↔ FICO and connected third-party medical data interfaces for better operational accuracy.
- Provided 24×7 SAP Enterprise Support, covering MM, FICO, SD, PS, PM, and HCM with incident resolution, enhancements, and a predictable monthly cost model.
- Delivered real-time HR analytics dashboards enabling leadership to track workforce metrics, payroll performance, and compliance across global operations.
Business Benefits
- Achieved a complete global HR and payroll transformation covering 48 countries, improving operational consistency and compliance.
- Leadership gained real-time visibility into workforce, performance, and payroll data for better strategic decision-making.
- Streamlined HR operations—onboarding, staffing, payroll, talent, and employee services—reduced manual effort and turnaround time.
- Automated global payroll ensured error-free, compliant salary processing, reducing disputes and increasing trust.
- Reduced IT overhead with a predictable SAP support model, lowering operational costs across business units.
- Improved employee satisfaction and service levels through digital ESS/MSS and standardized HR processes.
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