A record number of visitors, an exciting event location, informative specialist presentations, and photo shoots with the VfB mascot and a soccer star – that sums up Centric Customer Day 2025 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart.
The 200 trade visitors gained in-depth insights into all of Centric's current topics as well as the SAP strategy with regard to the HR solutions and platforms of the Walldorf-based company.
Centric announces new Cloud products
Centric Managing Director Steven Wernike also announced an important innovation in the area of audit and compliance tools. “Centric is following SAP's cloud strategy and focusing on cloud innovation with two new products,” said the Centric Managing Director.
The new Auditloop and Dataprovider solutions are the first products from the Centric IT Solutions division to be developed on the basis of the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). They are seamlessly integrated with SAP HCM for S/4HANA (H4S4) and SuccessFactors EC, making them future-proof.
On-premise-tools remain available
As a cloud solution, Auditloop combines the functionalities of proven on-premise tools from Centric, such as PLK/PLX and MADAP, for payroll and master data verification. Customer audit logs are stored securely in the SAP cloud. “In the first phase of development, Auditloop will be available in the second quarter of 2026,” said Steven Wernike. “Our on-premise tools will of course remain available, but will gradually fade into the background.”
In the area of HR document solutions, Managing Director Jens-Peter Hess announced the increased integration of AI functions into products such as Centric Employee File and Centric Document Builder. “We are not only working on expanding the functionality of our products with the help of AI, but also on simplifying implementation, customization, and support on this basis,” said Jens-Peter Hess.
Impressive growth
At the same time, he presented impressive figures that illustrate the growth in the area of document solutions: 52 go-lives have already been carried out this year, Centric Services are now used in 43 countries and are available in 27 language versions. In recognition of these successes, Centric's Employee File and Document Builder solutions have been awarded “Spotlight Plus” product status by SAP and are featured prominently in the SAP Store.
Numerous specialist presentations by customers and experts also shaped the program.
Michael Brass, Senior Solution & Value Advisor at SAP, provided information about the future of payroll and SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll (ECP) as a modern response to the increasing demands on payroll accounting in a globalized and digitized working world.
Centric document solutions playing a key role at Clariant
Jens Gehlen, Head of HR Technology at Clariant, demonstrated how his company uses Employee Central Payroll in conjunction with other solutions to transition its HR department to the cloud, with a range of Centric document solutions playing a key role.
Selina Fischer, HR Admin/Payroll Coordinator at the RWE HR Shared Service Center, presented the topics of quality assurance and internal control systems at RWE. By using Centric's audit and compliance tools, the company benefits from automated checklist creation, time synchronization and independence from payroll runs, as well as simpler and more transparent documentation for auditors and internal auditors. Visitors gained further insights into user experiences with Centric products during a panel discussion with representatives from ÖSW, Envalior, Deutz, and CH Media.
Together with Holger Ninow, Solutions Expert HCM at SAP, Centric expert David Gugnon presented the new SAP SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management. He particularly emphasized the integration of Centric document solutions into the new SAP solution.
More mindful interaction is needed
Photo opportunities with VfB mascot Fritzl, a stadium tour, and a chat with the likeable soccer star Cacau, who played as a striker for VfB Stuttgart, rounded off the program. With empathy, but also with quick wit, he provided exciting insights into the inner workings of a career in soccer and advocated for more mindful interaction at all levels. With empathy and quick wit, he provided exciting insights into a career in soccer and advocated for more mindful interaction at all levels.
