Viae Strata
Ewout van Straaten

SAP RETAIL CONSULTING

Twenty years where retail data meets SAP.

Functional depth, ABAP roots, and a track record that includes greenfield CAR implementations across 8,000 stores. I work where the complexity is, from POS integration to S/4HANA migration.

Let's talk
20+
YEARS IN RETAIL SAP
8K
STORES INTEGRATED
2
GREENFIELD IMPLEMENTATIONS

Where I add value

01
SAP CAR & Store Integration

Proven functional expertise in SAP Customer Activity Repository, covering POSDTA, Sales Audit, and OAA. From diagnostic assessments to full greenfield implementations at scale.

POSDTA Sales Audit OAA SAP CAR
02
S/4HANA & ECC Migration

Solid grounding in SAP ECC retail landscapes and the pressures of the 2027 migration deadline. Currently deepening S/4HANA SD expertise to support organisations navigating that transition.

S/4HANA SD ECC Migration IS-Retail
03
POS Data Integration

Hands-on experience with how transactional data flows from store to SAP and where it breaks. IDoc processing, POSDTA data validation, and store integration troubleshooting across large retail estates.

POS Integration IDoc POSDTA Validation
04
Functional & Technical

An ABAP development background combined with functional consulting depth. Being able to read the technical implementation while staying focused on what the business actually needs tends to shorten the distance between problem and solution considerably.

ABAP Functional Lead Architecture

A track record built in the field

Over two decades of retail SAP work, most of it at the operational level where implementations either hold or they don't. The assignments listed here give an impression of the kind of work where I can add real value.

  • 2018–2025
    H&M
    SAP CAR Consultant / Functional Lead
    Returned as SAP CAR subject matter expert to lead knowledge transfer of H&M's CAR solution to a new team. Progressed through application maintenance into functional lead and ad hoc team lead for a centralised POS reporting solution built on SAP CAR, designed to consolidate daily in-store POS data across multiple concurrent POS vendors per store.
  • Apr 2017–Aug 2018
    Aldi
    Functional Lead, Store Integration
    Greenfield SAP CAR implementation. Functional lead for store integration across approximately 8,000 stores across multiple countries.
  • 2011–2017
    H&M
    SAP Retail Consultant, First tenure
    Engaged as a senior SAP POS DM consultant to support H&M's POS DM implementation, delivered alongside a greenfield SAP ECC and BW rollout. Later served as project lead for the migration from SAP POS DM to SAP CAR.
  • Earlier
    ABAP Development
    Technical origins in retail SAP
    Career began on the technical side, with ABAP development in retail SAP contexts, before transitioning into functional consulting. Earlier functional work included SAP customs and Intrastat declarations and bespoke sales reporting for concession store owners in a department store environment. This combined foundation informs every engagement.

Ewout van Straaten

I am an independent SAP consultant based in Amsterdam, specialising in retail data integration. My work sits at the intersection of SAP CAR, S/4HANA Sales and Distribution, and the operational complexity of large-scale retail, a combination that is harder to find than it should be.

I started as a developer, which means I can read the ABAP behind the screen. I moved into functional consulting, which means I understand what the business actually needs. After twenty-plus years, I still find the problems interesting, particularly as the market navigates the ECC-to-S/4HANA transition and the architectural questions that come with it.

I have built my career as an independent consultant, and that remains my preferred mode of working. That said, I am pragmatic about engagement structures. What matters is doing interesting work at the right level of complexity, not the contractual form it takes.

"The stores are the business. Everything else is infrastructure. I understand both."

Let's talk

If you are navigating a SAP CAR implementation, planning an S/4HANA migration, or simply trying to understand what is going wrong with your store integration, I am available for a conversation. No obligation, no sales process.