Astellas: Unlocking Value from Global Talent with a Unified HR System
Explore Astellas’s journey with SAP
With a name derived from the Latin word for “star,” it’s no surprise Astellas Pharma Inc. is a leading light in healthcare, using cutting-edge science to deliver innovative treatments for patients. And with SAP SuccessFactors solutions, it has gained a single overview of talent that helps employees shine in pursuit of this goal.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Life sciences | Tokyo, Japan | 14,522 employees | Accenture |
to collect regional HR data, from up to a month.
centralized, future-ready HR system.
visibility of global postings.
Head of HR, Astellas Pharma Inc.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Life sciences | Tokyo, Japan | 14,522 employees | Accenture |
to collect regional HR data, from up to a month.
centralized, future-ready HR system.
visibility of global postings.
Head of HR, Astellas Pharma Inc.
Replacing disparate HR systems to support global expansion
Since establishing its global development headquarters in 2008, Astellas Pharma Inc. has grown rapidly, now operating in more than 70 countries and earning more than 80% of its sales revenue overseas. Within this vast organization, departments from product development, medical, and research to technical, commercial, legal, HR, and finance are integrated through reporting lines that are independent of country and region.
However, while reporting lines spanned international borders, legacy HR systems did not. They operated differently across regions and countries, with variations in the way information was managed, including its granularity. So, for example, if a team needed to recruit within the global company, they had no means to identify potential talent outside their region.
Kyoichi Murasaki, head of the company’s HR operations group, says, “Even if top management requested information on HR, it took two weeks to a month to gather and collect information from each region. Some regions had full management of employee information, and some managed only organizational assignments. Because of the difference in the level of information, we needed an integrated global HR database.”
Astellas set out to replace its heterogeneous HR systems with a single global platform and standardized processes. This would help it become more agile by reducing the time to obtain global insights into its workforce and talent pool.
Globally integrating people systems for data-driven HR
Astellas already had a very positive experience of using SAP SuccessFactors solutions to manage talent in the United States. This meant it had seen how the solutions smoothly aligned and integrated with its core ERP system based on SAP S/4HANA. And it knew cloud-based human capital management would enable continuous innovation across HR.
Takashi Tsubokura, associate director of the company’s corporate and commercial partner group in the information systems division, explains why SAP SuccessFactors solutions were the right choice: “SAP SuccessFactors solutions were implemented in the U.S. operations and used functions such as goal management and education management as a global common talent management system. In addition, we recognized that the latest features are available as a cloud service and that they are highly compatible with SAP S/4HANA.”
Another advantage of the solutions was the ability to standardize global processes and adopt best practices. Murasaki says, “Given the use of the cloud, we were conscious of fit-to-standard and reducing customization. Local requirements are limited to legal and critical business requirements only.”
Working with Accenture, the company first deployed the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution to provide robust HR master data for around 20,000 workers, comprising 14,500 employees as well as outsourced and contingent workers. It then used global templates to implement the SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, SAP SuccessFactors Compensation, SAP SuccessFactors Succession & Development, and SAP SuccessFactors Learning solutions in one “big-bang” approach.
Aiding agile workforce and talent management and helping employees grow
Now, HR is a true enabler at Astellas. A global integrated HR database underpinned by a unified data model and global processes provides an enterprise-wide view of open positions, available talent, performance, and succession plans. With people data available instantly across more than 70 countries and integrated HR reporting, the company can more nimbly manage workers and match global talent to business needs.
This transformation has significantly increased employee engagement. Greater awareness of global career opportunities through internal job postings means individuals are now motivated to take charge of their careers by applying for positions across the globe. And both they and their managers can more easily incorporate these opportunities into career development and succession plans.
Murasaki says, “Employees have been able to think about their careers from a broader perspective, and the mindset has changed significantly. We are now able to gain visibility into all employees and enable geographically independent talent management. Part-time workers have also enhanced their motivation and ability by connecting with their superiors through the system.”
Embracing a data-driven HR foundation to continuously evolve HR
With a unified data platform based on SAP SuccessFactors solutions and global enterprise data from SAP S/4HANA, Astellas is ready to derive even deeper insights from its HR data.
Tokuno explains, “We will continue to create an internal environment that will unlock the full potential of the organization and generate execution power and innovation as ‘One Astellas.’ And we will leverage globally integrated data to support data-driven operations and data-driven HR.”
Wherever this data takes the company’s HR operations, Astellas knows SAP SuccessFactors solutions will help workers achieve stellar performances.
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