Customer Story
How a Global Chemicals Leader Modernized Tax Compliance and Saved Over €2.4M
Products
Revenue
Employees
Industry
Benefits
saved in tech consolidation
disparate point solutions eliminated
in avoided penalties and audit risks over 3 years
in projected 3-year savings from unified E-Invoicing, VAT reporting and SAF-T automation
Overview
A global leader in the chemicals and coatings industry, with revenues exceeding €13 billion and a workforce of 35,000 employees, embarked on a company-wide ERP transformation. Their goal was to consolidate operations into a single global SAP instance and ensure full compliance with evolving tax mandates across diverse jurisdictions.
To support this transformation, the company needed a scalable, integrated compliance solution covering e-invoicing, VAT reporting, and SAF-T obligations—across nine complex countries including Chile, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Romania, India, Spain, Greece, Norway, and Malaysia.
The Challenge
Operating in a highly regulated industry across multiple tax jurisdictions, the company faced mounting pressure to:
- Unify fragmented compliance processes, previously handled through local point solutions and manual interventions
- Keep pace with evolving mandates, including e-invoicing in India and Chile, SAF-T in Romania, and real-time VAT submissions in Spain and Norway
- Align IT and Tax functions, which had traditionally operated in silos, to support the SAP rollout and future-proof global compliance
- Managing compliance independently in each country had created significant operational inefficiencies, rising support costs, and heightened audit risks
If this challenge sounds familiar to you, it’s worth connecting with a Sovos Expert so we can take this compliance burden off your shoulders.
The Solution
To address these challenges, the company partnered with Sovos to implement a unified indirect tax compliance strategy:
- Sovos Compliance Network
Delivered seamless e-invoicing capabilities with real-time tax authority integration across key jurisdictions. - Sovos VAT Reporting and SAF-T
Enabled automated VAT filings in Greece, Spain, and Norway, and SAF-T compliance in Romania—ensuring consistent, accurate submissions. - Sovos Indirect Tax Suite for SAP
Provided native integration into SAP, eliminating the need for third-party middleware and enabling standardized compliance across the enterprise.
The Results
Financial Gains
- €830K saved through technology consolidation by eliminating five legacy tools and middleware solutions
- €1.8M in projected 3-year savings from process automation, reduced reliance on external advisors, and fewer compliance errors
- €600K in avoided penalties and audit risks thanks to proactive monitoring and real-time validation features
Efficiency Improvements
- 35–50% reduction in manual compliance tasks—freeing tax professionals to focus on strategic work.
- 3x faster onboarding of new countries, with standardized SAP-based templates enabling go-lives in weeks, not months.
- 50% fewer IT support tickets related to compliance integrations—thanks to Sovos’ embedded SAP architecture.
Risk Mitigation & Scalability
- Achieved 100% compliance coverage across nine high-risk jurisdictions with varied reporting mandates
- Decreased SAP upgrade testing efforts by 40%, with Sovos maintaining compliance continuity through updates
- Enabled a future-ready ERP and tax infrastructure that reduces both operational and legal risk
Business Impact
- Created a unified compliance model that fostered collaboration between IT and Tax
- Supported the company’s ESG and procurement goals by reducing digital sprawl
- Centralized vendor management and lowered infrastructure emissions
Key Metrics
Countries consolidated into Sovos
Tech consolidation savings
Total projected 3-year ROI
Manual effort reduction
Reduction in IT support tickets
Compliance penalty reduction
Speed of country onboarding
reduction in SAP regression testing effort
Why Sovos?
The company selected Sovos for its unmatched ability to:
- Deliver global compliance coverage through a single provider
- Offer deep domain expertise across e-invoicing, VAT, and SAF-T
- Provide seamless SAP integration that aligned with the company’s ERP strategy and long-term digital roadmap
Conclusion
By centralizing its indirect tax compliance with Sovos, this global chemical manufacturer not only de-risked its SAP transformation but also unlocked millions in savings, improved tax accuracy, and ensured scalable compliance across its operations. Sovos enabled a future-proof tax strategy—turning regulatory burden into a competitive advantage.