Home Cases Bruning upgrades to SAP S/4HANA

SAP – Agility, integration and focus on management

Bruning is one of the largest auto parts manufacturers in Latin America, delivering solutions for the agricultural, road transport, automotive, construction, and other industries that depend on reliability, scale, and technology. With more than seven decades of history, the company has grown through continuous innovation, solid operational processes, and a strong people-first culture.

In recent years, Bruning has accelerated its digital transformation to support this growth. A major milestone was the implementation of SAP in 2018. Now, the company has taken another strategic step forward by upgrading to the latest version of SAP S/4HANA, driven by a critical regulatory change in Brazil and an ongoing focus on efficiency.

Why upgrade now? Understanding the Brazilian tax reform context

Unlike North America, Brazil has one of the most complex tax systems in the world, with multiple taxes applied at federal, state, and municipal levels. A nationwide Tax Reform is currently being implemented to simplify this structure, unify taxes, and introduce new compliance rules. While the reform aims to reduce long-term complexity, it creates significant short-term challenges for companies operating in Brazil.

For Brazilian companies, this reform is not optional. Organizations must adapt their systems within strict deadlines or face serious operational risks, including the inability to issue invoices, which would effectively halt business operations.

According to Mauricio Cavalli, IT Coordinator and technical lead of the project, “the Tax Reform was what pushed us to make the major change on SAP.” The new legislation introduced tight timelines and required companies to update their ERP systems to ensure compliance with new tax calculation, reporting, and control rules.

Vanderlei Giovani Benetti, Operational Excellence and IT Manager and project manager for the upgrade, reinforces this urgency: “we had very strict deadlines to comply with the legislation, and that directly and strongly influenced our project decisions.” For Bruning, upgrading SAP before the reform fully takes effect was not just a technology decision, but a strategic move to protect business continuity, operational security, and competitiveness.

The partnership with Meta IT: aligning technology with purpose

Choosing Meta IT to lead the upgrade was a natural decision. The partnership between Bruning and Meta IT began in 2018, during the initial SAP S/4HANA implementation, when Bruning migrated from a proprietary system to a robust, global ERP platform. From the start, the connection went beyond technical expertise.

Reno Schmidt Junior, CEO of Bruning and project sponsor, explains that Meta IT stood out as “a company with a very strong alignment of purpose with us.” Bruning’s purpose is to generate prosperity by connecting people and technology, and Meta IT shares this philosophy by treating technology as a means of transformation rather than an end in itself.

This cultural alignment created a partnership built on trust, long-term vision, and deep collaboration. Teams from both companies worked as one, with open communication and fast decision-making. The CEO describes this approach as “working without badges,” meaning there were no barriers between client and partner—just a shared goal.

Vanderlei Benetti highlights that Meta IT clearly understood both the urgency of the regulatory deadline and the complexity of Bruning’s operation. “Meta IT understood our needs and the context we were living in,” he explains, helping design a project that was realistic, focused, and aligned with business priorities.

People at the center of transformation

Although the upgrade was driven by regulatory pressure, it became much more than a compliance project. It turned into an internal mobilization effort that strengthened collaboration, learning, and ownership across teams.

Ângela Priscila Oliveira, Project Management Analyst and PMO for the initiative, points out that “having a dedicated team for the project was one of the biggest positives we see today.” This level of engagement made the transition smoother and accelerated knowledge sharing across departments.

The project reinforced a key belief shared by both Bruning and Meta IT: technology should enhance human capability. By automating complexity and increasing system reliability, teams were able to focus on more strategic, value-driven activities.

Business results and long-term readiness

The upgrade to the latest version of SAP S/4HANA delivered clear and immediate benefits:

• Greater operational stability

• Stronger integration across business processes

• Faster and more reliable decision-making

• Full readiness for Brazil’s new tax requirements

• Improved collaboration and communication between teams

According to Benetti, the updated SAP allows Bruning to operate “with the full potential of the platform,” supporting better decisions and continuous improvement.

Importantly, Bruning is now fully prepared for the impacts of Brazil’s Tax Reform, while many companies are still racing against the clock. Beyond compliance, the upgrade also creates a strong foundation for future digital initiatives, enabling new solutions and greater automation over the coming years. As Benetti explains, the new version “prepares us for the next stages of the company’s digital transformation journey.”

Looking ahead

Bruning’s long-term vision remains consistent: sustainable growth with people and technology evolving together. Reno, CEO, summarizes this outlook by emphasizing the importance of advancing “our purpose,” alongside partners who share the same values.

He sees the future as a shared journey, combining strong internal culture, skilled teams, and technologies that support business strategy. As long as there is alignment to “generate prosperity together,” Bruning and Meta IT will continue moving forward side by side.

This SAP upgrade marks a major turning point. Bruning enters the next phase of its digital journey with a modern, integrated, and resilient technology foundation—ready to navigate regulatory change, improve efficiency, and continue delivering value to customers, employees, and its entire ecosystem.

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