At the end of 2025, Vivawest Wohnen GmbHmigrated its SAP system to S/4HANA. In HR administration and payrollprocessing, however, the company continues to use SAP HCM. Increasing efficiency in these areas and streamlining workflows were key objectives, whichultimately led the company to focus on automated control processes. There are numerous specific use cases atVivawest that are closely related to the four-eyes principle. One example istravel expense reporting, which is still processed in paper form. These reports must always be reviewed and approved by multiple individuals —
“a process that is security-relevant, butat the same time extremely time-consuming for a comparatively less criticaltopic,”
explains Sebastian Adamek
from the HR Administration / Payrolldepartment at Vivawest Wohnen GmbH.
Because controls such as the four-eyesprinciple must also be applied in other areas of the system, the idea emergedto replace manual checks with external software capable of automaticallyperforming plausibility checks.
“We wanted to eliminate manual multi-personcontrols while simultaneously reducing the error rate. After conducting marketresearch, we came across Centric and its products PLK/PLX and MADAP. Thesesolutions fully covered our requirements for automated checks right from thestart.”
PLK/PLX enables plausibility checks withinpayroll processing. Vivawest primarily uses the tools for approval-relatedprocesses, such as travel expense reports or the validation of meal allowancesfor employees in customer service centers. These allowances are maintained viaSAP Infotype 14.
Following employee transfers, it frequentlyoccurred that employees continued to receive allowances even though they wereno longer eligible. With PLK/PLX, such cases are automatically identified,preventing errors before they occur.
MADAP is used for personnel master datavalidation and checks whether company pension plan origins align with theactual organizational assignments. This allows inconsistencies to be identifiedand corrected immediately.
“This control performed by the Centricsoftware is particularly important for us, as it helps prevent significanterrors in pension calculations,”
explains Sebastian Adamek.
The audit tools were implemented entirelyremotely. One example process—validation of meal allowances—was developedjointly by Centric and the Vivawest team.
The vendor provided comprehensive supportduring implementation to ensure successful deployment of the tools. Even aftergo-live, Centric remains available for issues and offers fast support,
Adamek emphasizes.
The Centric tools are delivered withstandard control rules, which customers can adapt to their specificrequirements. Vivawest reviewed each rule and created additional rules toreflect company-specific policies. "This allowed us to reduce complexity andfocus on the key aspects. Today, the combined use of Centric’s audit toolsprovides us with a comprehensive solution for process optimization andpersonnel master data validation." Although PLK/PLX and MADAP are separateapplications, their results are consolidated within PLK/PLX. Employeestherefore work with a single log containing all relevant notifications,enabling efficient processing in a unified interface. The targeted efficiency gains have not yetbeen quantified. Until the four-eyes principle is fully phased out, the toolsare running in parallel with manual controls to ensure nothing is overlooked. Starting in January 2026, the Centric audittools will significantly contribute to efficiency gains. Automated plausibilitychecks eliminate manual controls, allowing employees to complete tasks directlyin the system—freeing up time for core business activities.
